5 family members of Malaysian man who attacked police station face terrorism charges

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The father of a Malaysian man who attacked a police station and killed two police officers last month was charged Wednesday with inciting terrorism in his family. His Singaporean wife and three other children were also brought to court to face charges.

Radin Imran Radin Mohd Yassin, 62, faces four charges including promoting terrorist acts by allegedly instilling the violent ideology of the Islamic State group in his family, including his 21-year-old son Radin Luqman, who was killed by police in the attack.

Radin Luqman stormed the police station in southern Johor state near Singapore in the early hours of May 17 with a machete. He hacked a police constable to death and then used the officer’s weapon to kill another. He wounded a third officer before being shot dead. Police initially said the man could have been planning to take firearms from the station.

The incident sparked concerns of a wider security threat but government officials said the man and his family were reclusive, and that the attacker was believed to have acted on his own.

Radin Imran, who is unemployed, was also accused of supporting terrorist acts by keeping four homemade air rifles in his home for Islamic State activities, according to charge sheets seen by The Associated Press.

He also allegedly pledged allegiance in 2014 to Islamic State’s then-leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed in a U.S. raid in Syria in 2019. A book linked to the Islamic State was found in his possession.

His eldest son, Radin Romyullah, 34, faces two separate charges of pledging loyalty to Abu Bakar and of possessing an external hard drive containing materials related to the Islamic State, the charge sheets showed. Both father and son face life imprisonment, which in Malaysia is up to 40 years, and a fine.

Radin Imran’s Singaporean wife, Rosna Jantan, 59, and two daughters aged 19 and 23 each face a vague charge related to the omission of information related to the spread of terrorism. No details were given.

Local media said the five were brought to a court in Johor under heavy security. The Star newspaper said no plea was recorded but the five, who were not represented by lawyers, said they understood the charges against them. The next hearing in the case will be on July 31.

The Associated Press