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Islamist leader escapes from Singapore detention centre

SINGAPORE: Saying “sorry” over the “security lapse” that allowed a Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) detenu, Mas Selamat, to escape, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng on Thursday assured that the fugitive was known to have no imminent plans that might threaten public safety.

“Not taking any chances,” though, the City-State has now reinforced security throughout the island.

Mas Selamat bin Kastari, in “preventive detention” since 2006, had attracted Singapore’s attention as the suspected mastermind of a thwarted plot to hijack an aircraft and deploy it to target Changi airport here.

JI, whose existence was first detected by Singapore in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, is regarded by security agencies across Southeast Asia as the regional affiliate of the Al-Qaeda.

Mas Selamat fled Singapore in that year, as the authorities discovered and aborted the JI plans for truck bombings here.

He was arrested in Indonesia in 2003 in a case of fake identity card. And, on being deported to Singapore in 2006, he was detained at a centre, from where he escaped on Wednesday while being taken from his cell for a routine meeting with his family.

He used the pretext of visiting the toilet and fled.

Mr. Wong, also the Home Affairs Minister, told Parliament: “This should never have happened. I am sorry that it has. An independent investigation is under way, and we should not speculate now as to what and how it happened. Security at the centre has been stepped up.”

Mas Selamat was detained, in the first place, on grounds that he posed a “security threat,” but “there is no information that he has any plans that threaten public safety” in the immediate wake of his escape now.

In fact, as the authorities locked down the detention centre and started “a systematic operation” to track down the unarmed fugitive as soon as his escape was noticed, the immediate assessment was that “there was no imminent danger to the public.” This accounted for the delay in the public being informed.

Noting that security at all land, sea, and air checkpoints as well as all unconventional but potential escape routes had now been tightened, Mr. Wong urged the people to remain “calm.”

Mas Selamat is regarded by the Singapore authorities as the local JI leader, while the wider network tends to operate from out of neighbouring Indonesia. Both Indonesia and Malaysia are also on the lookout for this fugitive now.

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