Yeah this is just a way to push censorship and more surveillance. Its no secret that Singapore has some Chinese influence and its entirely possible this is just a precursor to locked down devices to prevent the use of encrypted messaging.
(I don’t have actual evidence to support this claim so take it how you please)
Signal is shipped right on the Play Store. If they were up to killing encrypted messaging, they should remove the most widely available apps.
That could be a step 2. When you let someone step on your freedom they will continue to increase there control.
the play store has geo-blocking apps as a feature. Meaning that, if it was necessary, google could restrict the Signal app from being installed in Singapore, at the Chinese government’s request