wanted man

call if seen him @ 999

கால் இப் சீன்

Where is Mas Selamat?By Alicia Wong and Rosnah Ahmad, TODAY | Posted: 29 February 2008 0842 hrs

SINGAPORE : Businessman Richard Chan usually leaves it to his wife to pick their daughter from the Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS). But on Thursday afternoon, he decided to accompany his wife to the school. With Mas Selamat Kastari - terror detainee-turned-fugitive - still at large, Mr Chan did not want to take any chances. "I may have not sent my daughter to school if I had known earlier," he told TODAY. In what Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng described as a "security lapse", Mas Selamat, head of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network here, gave his guards the slip while he was being taken to the toilet at the Whitley Detention Centre, which is near SCGS. The massive manhunt for the 47-year-old fugitive, who walks with a limp, continued on Thursday. "Extensive police, the Singapore Armed Forces and other security resources are still deployed and no efforts will be spared to track him down," the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said last night. The soldiers were brought in on Thursday to help the thousands of policemen, Gurkhas and men from the elite Special Operations Forces already deployed cover a wider area. As the security forces continued to maintain its presence in the area around the detention centre, SCGS yesterday issued a letter to parents assuring them that extra precautions had been taken to ensure the students' safety. Said SCGS principal Low Ay Nar: "Cars allowed into the premises are scrutinised more stringently." Despite the beefed-up security in some areas, it seemed to be business as usual in many parts of Singapore. In Geylang Serai, several people interviewed said they were not worried. The owner of a textile outlet, Mr Hashim Mohd Noor, believes that Mas Selamat will be caught "sooner or later". Shopkeeper Chng Keng Chai, in his 80s, added: "I am not worried. If I see him, I'll call the police." TODAY's checks suggested that many Singaporeans were more curious about the escape itself. As Mr K C Cheriyan, director of a childcare centre at Goldhill Avenue and a former military man, said: "How do you escape from such a facility? How is it possible?" Other questions that have cropped up: Was Mas Selamat acting alone? Why was he not restrained with handcuffs or electronic tags? Shouldn't there have been fail-safe measures in the first place? Would his escape lead to greater security threats here? Four government MPs also had some questions for Mr Wong in Parliament on Thursday. Among them was Dr Teo Ho Pin, who wanted to know what was the level of security imposed on Mas Selamat during his detention. "This has raised concerns about our police force's vigilance, and security operating procedures," he said. MP Ho Geok Choo - noting the possibility that there could be a network operating in the background to help Mas Selamat escape - asked Mr Wong what more the Home Ministry could do to prepare Singaporeans in the event of an emergency. Mr Wong urged the House "not to speculate" until an independent investigation had completed its work. He also warned that anyone who helps Mas Selamat would be committing a "grave offence". Under the Penal Code, a person who harbours a fugitive faces a jail sentence that may extend to 15 years or even a life term, as well as a fine. TODAY understands that Mas Selamat's posters — with his picture and a number to call — are being put up in places such as bus interchanges and MRT stations. Singapore's neighbours were yesterday also on alert, with Malaysian security forces beefing up patrols and distributing the JI leader's photos to various enforcement agencies. An Indonesian presidential spokesman told online news portal detik.com that Jakarta was coordinating very closely with Singapore’s security and intelligence agencies. Even as Singaporeans are waiting for answers to the "how", security experts are already grappling with the question, "what next?" Some believe that Mas Selamat — who once plotted to hijack a plane and crash it into Changi Airport — has four options: Hide and wait until there is a lull in the manhunt; make a dash for it and try to escape to a neighbouring country; or, if he feels cornered, Mas Selamat might resort to taking a hostage or even a reckless act of terror. Mr Clive Williams, a professor with the Australian Defence Force Academy, predicted that Mas Selamat would try to reach Indonesia. "Because if he stays in Singapore, he’s going to be arrested fairly quickly," Mr Williams told AFP. - TODAY/il

Interpol issues urgent alert for fugitive Singapore JI leader

SINGAPORE: World police group Interpol has issued an urgent global security alert for Mas Selamat Kastari, the Singapore leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant network, who escaped from a Singapore detention centre on Wednesday. Interpol posted an Orange Notice, or urgent worldwide security alert, on its website, after a request from Singapore. The Orange Notice means the militant leader's photograph and fingerprints will be issued to each of Interpol's 186 national central bureaus. Orange Notices can be issued by Interpol's general secretariat in Lyon, France, for any event posing a risk to the safety and security of citizens worldwide. "Singapore is clearly doing all that it can on a national level to locate this fugitive and through issuing an Orange Notice, Interpol and all of its member countries can support these efforts on an international scale," said Interpol Executive Director of Police Services Jean-Michel Louboutin. According to terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna, it is highly likely that Kastari would try to flee Singapore to Indonesia. The Singapore-based head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research told Channel NewsAsia that Kastari as an escape artist and is also a wanted man in Indonesia. Sutarman, chief of police of Riau Islands province, which shares a sea border with Singapore, told Indonesia's state-run Antara news agency that the city-state "sent us an urgent notice requesting intensified patrols to prevent the terrorist from entering Indonesia." He said Kastari "possesses good knowledge" about entering Indonesia illegally. Indonesian police chief Sutanto told reporters in Jakarta that his force would help Singapore if Kastari makes it to Indonesia. "It's our common obligation, as terrorism is a threat to any country," he said, adding: "We've taken all important measures," without elaborating. While Kastari remained at large, police arrested another man whom they said made threats after claiming he was the fugitive. The 58-year-old used a public phone to claim he was Kastari and "threatened to attack multiple locations," a police news release said. Meanwhile, Singapore continued to search for Mas Selamat who escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on Wednesday afternoon. Police officers were seen combing the area along Lornie Road, and around the Caldecott Broadcast Centre. They also put pamphlets in the mailboxes of the low-rise houses along Andrew Road. The search team also looked around the cemetery on Sime Road. Earlier the Home Affairs Ministry said security has been tightened at all places and buildings in the vicinity of where he might have escaped to or could be hiding. The Ministry was responding to a query from Channel NewsAsia on whether security personnel have pulled out from the Whitley Road area where the search for Mas Selamat had centred. The fugitive walks with a limp and is not known to be armed. Photos of Mas Selamat, both clean-shaven and with a beard, have been released by officials who are appealing to the public to come forward if they have information on the fugitive's whereabouts. They can contact the Police at 999. -CNA/AFP/ir/vm

警方继续追捕 脱逃回祈团头目

新传媒新闻报道，警方加紧地毯式搜捕行动，寻找回教祈祷团头目Mas Selamat Kastari的下落。国际刑警也发布Mas Selamat逃脱的消息，并发出橙色级别警报，警惕各国警方。 军警继星期四在惠德里拘留所周围一带密集搜寻后，星期五继续在全岛搜查Mas Selamat的下落。 重点搜寻行动也扩大到汤申路和罗尼路一带的私人住宅区。警方特种部队人员一大早就到这一带分发通缉传单，通过发布Mas Selamat的照片，让居民更容易辨认逃犯的面目。 警方星期五上午大约10点左右，将范围扩大到汤申路一带的私人住宅区，挨家挨户地分发传单，希望提醒居民提高警惕。 警方也在罗尼路附近一带的坟场展开搜寻。这一带的华人坟场范围相当大，平时鲜少有人出没。 除了搜捕行动外，大士和兀兰关卡也严密搜查通关旅客和车辆，因为保安措施而造成的长长车龙，已经进入第二天。 新加坡警方也提供了Mas Selamat的照片和指纹等个人资料给国际刑警，再通过国际刑警发布给全球186个国家和地区的警方，协助追查这名回祈团头目的踪迹。国际刑警也发布橙色级别警戒，警惕各国警方和民众，Mas Selamat是一名极度危险的恐怖分子。 警方逮捕一名报假案的58岁男子。男子自称是越狱逃走的回祈团头目Mas Selamat Kastari。 警方文告指出，男子在昨天下午5点10分，在海格路第10座组屋用公共电话打给警方，恐吓要在多个地点展开攻击。警方正在调查这起事件，同时警告，将严惩这类恶作剧者。