Order of Detention under the Internal Security Act – Singaporean Dickson Yeo

1. An Order of Detention under the Internal Security Act has been issued against Singaporean Dickson Yeo with effect from 29 Jan 2021 for acting as a paid agent of a foreign state. Yeo was arrested by ISD on 30 Dec 2020 following his deportation from the US where he had admitted to and was charged in the US federal court for acting within the US as an illegal agent of a foreign power without first notifying the Attorney General.

2. ISD’s investigations established that Yeo had worked for the intelligence apparatus of a foreign state and had carried out various taskings given to him by his foreign handlers in exchange for monetary gains. Yeo admitted to being fully aware that his foreign handlers were working for the intelligence apparatus of the foreign state. He was tasked to source for information and provide reports on issues of interest to his foreign handlers, including information relating to Singapore. Towards this end, he had approached various individuals in Singapore in an attempt to obtain information for the purpose of writing his reports. Yeo had set up a front company in Singapore as a cover for his information-gathering activities as well as recruitment for his foreign handlers. He had also tried, but failed, to secure employment in the Singapore government sector to further his information-gathering activities. Yeo had carried out these activities over a period from 2016 until his arrest in the US in 2019.

3. Investigations are still on-going and his continued detention is necessary to facilitate probes into the full extent of his activities. The Singapore Government takes a very serious view of anyone who enters into a clandestine relationship with a foreign government and engages in activities at the behest of the foreign power that is inimical to our national security and interests, including bilateral relations.

INTERNAL SECURITY DEPARTMENT

15 JUNE 2021