Brenton Tarrant follower, 16, held in Singapore

Singapore authorities have ­detained a 16-year-old boy for ­allegedly plotting to kill Muslims in a machete attack.

Christchurch mass murderer Brenton Tarrant. Picture: Getty Images

Singapore authorities have ­detained a 16-year-old boy for ­allegedly plotting to kill Muslims in a machete attack to mark the second anniversary of the 2019 Christchurch mosque killings.

The city state’s Home Affairs Ministry said the boy, a Protestant Christian and ethnic ­Indian, had intended to live­stream his attack, and had been influenced by Brenton Tarrant, whom he described as a “saint”.

The Australian far-right extremist is serving a life sentence without parole in New Zealand for the murder of 51 people last March, and the attempted murder of another 40.

The teenager is the youngest person to be detained under Singapore’s Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial.

Singapore’s Internal Security Department said in a statement that the boy was arrested last month on a tip-off, and had confessed under interrogation that he could only “foresee two outcomes — that he is arrested ­before he is able to carry out the attacks, or he executes the plan and is thereafter killed by the police”.

Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said the case was a “worrying development”. “He went in fully prepared, knowing that he is going to die, and he was prepared to die,” he said.

The ISD said he had also confessed to getting a “rush” from watching Tarrant’s own live­streamed attack and was “self-radicalised, motivated by a strong antipathy towards Islam and a fascination with violence”.

“He watched the live­streamed video of the terrorist attack on the two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Mar 15, 2019, and read the manifesto of the Christchurch ­attacker, Brenton Tarrant,” the statement said.

“He had also watched Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propaganda videos, and came to the erroneous conclusion that ISIS represented Islam, and that Islam called on its followers to kill non-believers.”

The teenager had allegedly made detailed plans to attack the Assyafaah Mosque and Yusof Ishak Mosque near his home on the north part of the island, and had conducted online reconnaissance using Google Maps and Street View.

Officials said he had also researched and listed in his favourites file a $190 Smith & Wesson machete he planned to buy online after unsuccessfully attempting to purchase a firearm under Singapore’s strict gun control laws. Like Tarrant, he had prepared a manifesto which he had intended to release before the ­attacks.