Mas Selamat Kastari

fatz

JI detainee Mas Selamat Kastari escapes from Singapore detention centre
Posted: 27 February 2008 2045 hrs


Mas Selamat Kastari

Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) detainee Mas Selamat Kastari escaped from a Singapore detention centre on Wednesday.

A statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) says Mas Selamat escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre at 4:05pm.

Mas Selamat was the leader of the Singapore JI network.

MHA says he walks with a limp and is presently at large.

He is not known to be armed.

Extensive police resources have been deployed to track him down.

Anyone with information about him can contact the police at 999.

Mas Selamat was arrested by the Indonesian police on Bintan island in January 2006 and then sent back to Singapore.

He was wanted by Singapore authorities in connection with planned attacks on Changi airport. - CNA/ch

fatz

Massive manhunt for escaped JI terror leader
Singapore's most wanted militant escaped from the Whitley Road detention centre on Wednesday afternoon

THE leader of the Singapore terrorist Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network, Mas Selamat Kastari, escaped from the Whitley Road detention centre at about 4.05 pm on Wednesday, said the Ministry of Home Affairs in a statement.

A massive manhunt involving the police, Gurkhas and Special Operations Command forces, is underway to track down the escaped detainee, who walks with a limp.

'He is not known to be armed. Extensive police resources have been deployed to track him down,' said the ministry statement.

The forces have fanned out to areas in Beauty World in Upper Bukit Timah, Goldhill Avenue near Barker Road, and the men are knocking on homes asking residents if they have seen the escapee.

Undercover police officers are also questioning staff of petrol stations, convenience stores and checking their CCTV footage in case the terrorist leader had entered their premises earlier.

At Malcolm Park, near the Singapore Chinese Girls School, scores of forces have formed a formidable blockade around the park.

  The public is asked to contact the police at 999 if they know of his whereabouts.

Background
Mas Selamat, 45, and four other members of the terrorist organisation which has regional links and ties to Al-Qaeda, were served detention orders under the Internal Security Act between March and May 2006.

Tagged as Singapore's most wanted militant and linked to a sensational plot to crash a hijacked plane into Changi Airport, the JI leader of the Singapore network, was arrested on the Riau island of Bintan while on the run after fleeing the Republic in December 2001.

He was eventually deported to Singapore in February 2006 after serving time in two Indonesian jails for immigration offences.

Mas Selamat, a father of four, was involved in JI's plans to mount attacks against foreign and local establishments here, which included the US Embassy and American Club, the Defence Ministry headquarters at Bukit Gombak and the Education Ministry building at North Buona Vista Drive.

His role included directing Singapore JI members to undertake reconnaissance of these establishments and handing over reconnaissance material to JI operational leaders based in Malaysia.

After he fled Singapore, he continued to target the country - specifically plotting to hijack an aircraft to crash into Changi Airport.

The Government said that when his initial attempt was thwarted, he continued to believe in the feasibility of the plan and intended to pursue it in the future when the opportunity presented itself.

When he was finally captured in Malang, some 40 km south of Pasuruan on Jan 20 2006, after about five months on the run, Mas Selamat was found to be carrying false identification - an offence similar to previous charges that arose from his first arrest in February 2003.

That earlier arrest ended his 14-month run from the law, which began when he fled Singapore in December 2001 after the Republic's crackdown on terrorists had netted about a dozen of his JI comrades.

What he did, or whom he met, during his five-month freedom is still a mystery.

His involvement in JI began in 1990.

According to a 2003 report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) on the JI, he joined Darul Islam (DI), a movement considered to be the parent of JI, that year.

Founded in 1948, DI fought for an Islamic state in Indonesia in the 1950s and spawned several key JI leaders, including its founders, the late Abdullah Sungkar and jailed militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

Mas Selamat joined DI after he heard Indonesian cleric Abu Jibril preach in Johor.

Abu Jibril, who was detained in Malaysia in 2001 for militant work, had also apparently held religious talks in Singapore at the homes of JI members. He was deported to Indonesia in 2004, and now heads the Majlis Mujahidin Indonesia, an outfit founded by Abu Bakar.

By 1992, Mas Selamat had joined the religious council of the Singapore JI cell. In 1993, he went a step further, undergoing military training in Afghanistan.

At that time, the Afghan training was supervised by another Indonesian cleric, Zulkarnaen - said to be a member of JI's central command as well as the leader of its military wing. Zulkarnaen is still at large.

In 1998, JI paid for Mas Selamat and another Singaporean, Jaafar Mistooki, to visit Afghanistan again for a month to look at the Taleban system of government.

Jaafar, who has been detained since December 2001, was one of several JI detainees in Singapore and Malaysia who testified against Abu Bakar during the cleric's 2003 trial in Indonesia.

By 1999, Mas Selamat had been chosen by alleged JI operations chief Hambali to take over as Singapore JI leader from Ibrahim Maidin - the Singapore cell founder who has been detained since December 2001.

ICG's report said he met Hambali, who has been in US custody since 2003, at around the same time in Bangkok to discuss a plane hijack, and was in the Thai capital and Pattaya to select personnel.

In 2002, Singapore's then-premier Goh Chok Tong said that Mas Selamat had planned to crash a hijacked plane into Changi Airport to avenge the arrests of JI members.

fatz2

JI detainee escaped while being escorted to meet family
Posted: 28 February 2008 1311 hrs

SINGAPORE: Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng has cited a lapse in security at the Whitley Detention Centre on Wednesday as the cause for the escape of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) member Mas Selamat Kastari.

He told MPs, who had raised the matter in Parliament, that Mas Selamat had been taken from his cell to another part of the detention centre for a visit from his family. He then asked to be allowed to visit the toilet, where he escaped.

"This should have never have happened. I am sorry that it has," said Mr Wong in an update to the House, adding that an independent investigation is underway.

The Home Affairs Minister went on to say that security at the centre has been stepped up and there should not be any speculation on what and how the escape happened.

Mr Wong described Mas Selamat as a security threat, which is why he was placed under preventive detention. But he added that officials are not taking any chances even though there is no information that Mas Selamat has any plans that threaten public security.

As to why the public was informed of the escape only some four hours after it happened, Mr Wong said the focus was to lock down the detention centre before starting a systematic operation to search for the fugitive and arrest him. That was because the security assessment was that the escape posed no imminent danger to the public.

Mr Wong said the arrest of Mas Selamat remains a priority and there will be no effort spared in tracking him down. Security at all land, sea and air checkpoints has been tightened, including areas where there is a possibility of Mas Selamat slipping out of Singapore.

In the meantime, Mr Wong has urged the public to stay calm and to report any suspicious sighting to the police, reminding that any help given to Mas Selamat is a serious crime. - CNA/sf

fatz2

Manhunt for escaped JI leader intensifies
By Teh Joo Lin, Tania Tan and K.C Vijayan


  
A massive traffic jam started this morning along Dunearn Road wherepolice and Special Operations Command officers set up camp just byGoldhill Avenue with military personnel stood guard every ten metresalong the road. -- ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG

SAF soldiers have joined the island-wide land, sea and air hunt.

The manhunt for the escaped Jemaah Islamiyah leader has intensified, with more than 100 soldiers joining the thousands of security forces that are tracking down the fugivtive across the island and other air and sea checkpoints.

It is almost 24 hours since the wanted man, Mas Selamat Kastari, 47, who was linked to a sensation plant to crash a hijacked plane into Changi Airport, has been on the run.

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng told Parliament earlier on Thursday that the JI militant escaped while he was brought to meet his family who was visiting him at the detention centre.

While being led to the room to meet his family, he asked to go to the toilet and gave his escorting officers the slip. The public was informed of his escape only about four hours later because the authorities said he posed no 'imminent danger to the public' at the time.

The fugitive is said to walk with a limp and is not known to be armed.
Early on Thursday morning, the SAF military police and guardsmen were brought in at about 6.30 am to beef up the huge security cordon around the wooded Malcolm Park, near the Singapore Chinese Girls' School and the vicinity.

A snaking line of more than 20 military and police vehicles, including a 5-tonner truck, occupied the left most lane of Dunearn Road, causing the morning rush hour traffic to slow to a crawl.

Pupils arriving at the Singapore Chinese Girls School on Dunearn Road were ushered in through the school gates by teachers and parents, and immediately up to the second floor assembly hall.

There, vice-principal Mrs Shermaine Tang, told them 'not to roam around' and explained to them why they were surrounded by military vehicles and armed security forces on the school compound.

'Your teachers are here for you, and we're going to have a great day at school,' reassured Mrs Tang.

But some rattled parents were not convinced and at least 10 of them took their daughters home early.

One mother, who would only give her name as Ms Tan, said she felt 'uneasy' and preferred to have her daughter at home.

All the schools in the vicinity, including St Joseph Institution, Anglo Chinese School (Barker Road) and Catholic Junior College were also combed by security forces before the students turned up.

At the junction of Goldhill Avenue and Dunnearn Road, all vehicles were checked and the drivers asked to open their boots for scrutiny by the police.

Military police and Gurkha guards stood at 10 metres apart along the footpaths of Goldhill Avenue, stretching to Mount Rosie Terrace.

At about 8.15 am, some 50 Gurkha guards fanned out to check on several vacant bungalows in the area, led by grassroots leader Fred Chong, who has lived in the area for over 20 years. He brought them to about six empty houses, which were left vacant or undergoing renovation.

The Gurkhas also checked the drains and backways between the private houses.

Shortly after, they started combing the wooded area behind Goldhill Place, which residents said is cobra-infested.

In Parlaiment, Mr Wong said that the security at all the air, land and sea checkpoints have been tightened, including the areas where the escaped terrorist "may leave our shores not from the normal immigration clearance areas'.

He also warned that anyone who helps Mat Selamat would be committing a serious offence. 'I urge the public to stay calm and report any suspicious sightings to the police immediately,' he said.

Mas Selamat, 47, a father of four, took over as head of the JI network here in 1999, and later plotted to crash a hijacked plane into Changi Airport.

**********************************************
Feb 28, 2008
Escape of JI leader : How can this happen in Singapore?


Mas Selamat, who heads the Singapore JI terror network, escaped fromthe Whitley Road Detention Centre on Wednesday, sparking an island-widemanhunt. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

Singaporeans reacted to news of the escape of JI leader Mas SelamatKastari from a high-security detention centre with disbelief andincredulity.  This posting from Jordan Tan in the straitstimes.com discussionboard aptly summed up the reaction of many others: 'Hello, this isSingapore. How can this happen?'
Added cc1034: 'How can a highly dangerous person escape from a highly secured prison?'
Another disbelieving reader, who goes by the monicker howaiyee,said: 'Security at the detention centre is 'tight'. He walks with alimp. Yet he managed to escape. What a shame!'
'How can we feel safe anymore?' said a worried Lim Boon Hee.
Mas Selamat, 47, who heads the Singapore Jemaah Islamiyahterror network, escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre at 4.05pm on Wednesday, sparking an island-wide manhunt involving thousands ofpolice, SAF, Gurkha and Special Operations Command forces.


The Straits Times online discussion board has also been buzzingwith readers' comments, with postings coming in at 3 am in the morning.As at 2.15 pm, there were 186 postings on this issue, with 16,528views.

Many readers expressed concern about the breach of security which allowed the terror leader to slip away.

Said raymond_lo: 'I feel throughly let down by our security men.'                                                                                                                                                                                         A user who signed off as a 'terrified student from SCGS', said she would not be going to school on Thursday

Several also urged the authorities to provide more information about the escape.

Said shean777: 'Please, Home Affairs Minister, say something or more importantly, DO something!'

Indeed, a user who went by the name lib27 put it bluntly: 'The whole Singapore is waiting for an answer.'

Many readers also offered tips and advice to catch the JI leader.
Suggested mr.speakersir: 'Perhaps the authorities mightseriously warn Singaporeans and whoever else in Singapore about thecosequences of sheltering him.. and whoever provides leads to hiswhereabouts and subsequent capture should be rewarded ... Singaporeansjust love rewards!' He also suggested plastering his pictureisland-wide, terming it the 'great Singapore terrorist hunt.

A reader readi suggested a CCTV system that could hook upimages of all passengers in taxis that could be beamed to a centralisedsystem.

Many also rallied Singaporeans to pitch in the search for the wanted man

Reader jchlee urged 'all to keep a lookout for this damn fella,and help the SPF nab him before he really wreaks havoc in Singapore.'



[ Last edited by  fatz2 at 5-3-2008 10:31 PM ]

tig_cun

kecoh sesangat... paling geram kat woodlands chkpt.. jam rabak sampai la now nie... eii...

fatz

like tig ckp, cuma kat kawasan kawalan sempadan jer yg kecoh...lain2 semua ok jer...cuma nampak sangat la kehadiran pegawai2 berunifom....
kalau tak...dorang makan gaji buta jer...ni biar dorang keje sikit...

menurut laporan, dia larikan diri masa dibawak ke pusat lawatan keluarga dari tempat dia di kurung....masa tu dia mintak izin nak terkucil....

************************************

About 100 volunteers from the
Malay/Muslim community fanned out fromKhadijah Mosque in Geylang Road to distribute 10,000 wanted posters ofJemaah Islamiyah fugitive, Mas Selamat Kastari. -- ST PHOTO: EDWIN KOO

Malay/Muslim community leaders help in search for Mas Selamat                                                                                                                                                                               
By                                                                                                                                                         Diana Othman


It started with a late night SMS from Malay/Muslim grassroots leader MrAbdul Halim Kader, 57, seeking to galvanise community leaders intoaction.

  By 3.30pm on Friday, about 100 volunteers including grassrootsleaders, members of the Khadijah Mosque committee, staff fromMalay-Muslim welfare organisation Taman Bacaan, representatives fromlocal merchants and hawkers, and other concerned individuals hadresponded.

They fanned out from the Khadijah Mosque in Geylang Road todistribute 10,000 wanted posters of Mas Selamat Kastari to make itclear that escaped detainee was an enemy of the people, regardless ofrace or religion.

'I came up with the idea at about 12 midnight. I then sent outSMSes to 10 individuals including five MPs, and by 5.30am I got myfirst response,' said Mr Halim, president of Taman Bacaan.
Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs, Zainul Abidin Rasheedresponded positively to Mr Halim's appeal for support in this communityendeavour

Soon, the other nine others including Mdm Cynthia Phua, a MP for theAljunied GRC and Marine Parade GRC MP Dr Fatimah Lateef SMSed theirsupport for the cause and mobilised volunteers to join in.

The group gathered in the Khadijah Mosque auditorium on Fridayafternoon, when Mr Halim spoke about how giving out the wanted posterswas a simple way the community would be able to join in this nationaleffort.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Search for JI man goes to grassroots
By Bertha Henson, Associate Editor
Additional reporting by Chong Chee Kin, K.C. Vijayan, Salim Osman and Carolyn Quek
POSTERS of fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari flooded Singapore onFriday, as the authorities sought public help to nab the country's mostwanted man.

Photographs of the former Jemaah Islamiyah leader - with andwithout his moustache and goatee - stared out at those passing throughbus interchanges, MRT stations and even shopping malls.

Scores of policemen were also spotted shoving flyers into the letter-boxes of landed homes in Andrew Road.

Mas Selamat, 47, has one distinguishing trait, a limp in hisleft leg, apparently from a fall during an escape attempt while he wasin Indonesian custody in 2004.

On Friday, the Home Affairs Ministry revealed two other details about the man: he is 1.60m tall and weighs 63kg.
By last night the posters, originally in English only, were going out in Chinese, Malay and Tamil as well.
While officials remained tight-lipped about the status of the manhunt, those familiar with law enforcementprocedures said the poster blitz and ongoing search here indicated theauthorities believe he is still in Singapore.
Throughout Friday, teams of police officers and Gurkhas wereseen at different parts of the island at different times. Late lastnight, the action was in Upper Bukit Timah. Gurkhas and officers fromSpecial Operations Command were combing through the undergrowth atBukit Batok Nature Park.

Mas Selamat escaped from Internal Security Department custodyat the Whitley Detention Centre at 4.05 pm on Wednesday, sparking thebiggest manhunt in Singapore history.

Thousands of policemen spent two days locking down the BukitTimah-Dunearn Road area near the centre, checking homes, schools andvehicles.

The police presence was no longer as evident there on Friday,but teams of Gurkhas were spotted scouring even Singapore Armed Forceslive-firing areas in Lim Chu Kang.

Tip-offs also began coming in: One petrol station attendantalerted the authorities to a limping man making his way to Bukit Browncemetery near Whitley Road. It proved a false alarm.

But the reminder to call 999 drew one hoax call. Policeswiftly tracked down and arrested a 58-year-old man who called from apublic phone on Friday morning, claiming to be the terrorist andthreatening to blow up multiple locations.





[ Last edited by  fatz at 5-3-2008 11:06 PM ]

Ratu_Lybeau

hish i can imagine...the tension sedangkan....normal weekends pong jam....adeiiiii

Ratu_Lybeau

Originally posted by fatz at 29-2-2008 11:14 AM
like tig ckp, cuma kat kawasan kawalan sempadan jer yg kecoh...lain2 semua ok jer...cuma nampak sangat la kehadiran pegawai2 berunifom....
kalau tak...dorang makan gaji buta jer...ni biar dorang ...

ha ha makan gaji buta.......

terkucil.....cam citer movies gitu......

fatz2

Singapura : 4 Mac 2008         
         
POLIS JOHOR TURUT BANTU GERAKAN KESAN MAS SELAMAT

Oleh
Nazri Hadi Saparin

GAMBAR Mas Selamat Kastari juga telah diedarkan di semua pintu masuk ke seberang Tambak sebagai usaha polis Johor membantu menangkap pemimpin Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) Singapura itu.

Di samping gambar, para pegawai yang bertugas di pintu-pintu masuk juga telah diberi taklimat mengenai Mas Selamat, yang meloloskan diri dari Pusat Tahanan Whitley Road Rabu lalu.

Ketua Polis Johor, Datuk Mokhtar Shariff, berkata pihaknya mempunyai hubungan kerja yang baik dengan Polis Singapura dan telah pun bekerjasama dengan rakan sejawatan mereka di sini dalam kes-kes tertentu.

'Polis Johor akan memberikan kerjasama sepenuhnya kepada Polis Singapura untuk mengesan Mas Selamat.

'Kami telah pun mengedarkan gambar-gambar dan butir diri Mas Selamat kepada semua pintu-pintu masuk (ke Malaysia) dan anggota yang bertugas (di pintu masuk).

'Kami juga telah memberi penerangan kepada anggota (polis) yang bertugas bahawa sekiranya Mas Selamat dikesan, dia mesti ditangkap,' kata beliau, yang ditukil agensi berita Bernama semalam.

Keterangan Datuk Mokhtar itu menyusuli kenyataan polis Singapura kelmarin bahawa mereka percaya Mas Selamat masih berada di republik ini.

Ini meskipun pencarian lebih 120 jam sejak Rabu lalu di serata pulau belum lagi membuahkan hasil.

Ketika dihubungi semalam, polis berkata pihaknya tidak menumpukan pencarian di sesebuah kawasan, sebaliknya melancarkan misi mencari di serata pulau.

Pada masa yang sama, kawalan di pintu-pintu keluar darat dan laut di sini terus dipertingkat.

Semasa membuat tinjauan di beberapa kawasan pantai seperti di Lim Chu Kang dan Yishun semalam, Berita Harian mendapati kehadiran polis dan askar yang giat memantau keadaan.

fatz2

Escaped terrorist Mas Selamat could have worn a greenish grey baju kurong over a beige round collared tee-shirt and a pair of brown long trousers (above), which are the standard uniform for detainees at Whitley Road detention centre where he fled from last week. -- PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

JI fugitive last seen in greenish grey baju kurong, say police
By Teh Joo Lin & Arlina Arshad

ESCAPED terrorist Mas Selamat was last seen wearing greenish grey baju kurong when he bolted from the Whitley Road Detention Centre last Wednesday afternoon, said police on Tuesday.

He could also have worn them over a white round-neck T-shirt and brown long trousers, which are the standard uniform for detainees at the detention centre where he had been held since 2006 under the Internal Security Act. Police said detainees are allowed to wear civilian clothes on family visits day.

Releasing details on what the fugitive was last seen in for the first time since his escape, Police Assistant Commissioner (AC) Wong Hong Kuan told reporters on Tuesday morning that Mas Selamat was wearing the baju kurong - a very loose blouse with just a small neckline, worn over a sarong usually wrapped around the lower part of the body - while he was being taken to meet his family last Wednesday.

While being led to the family visit room, the detainee asked to go to the toilet and fled from there. As the fugitive has been on the run for almost six days, police said he might have discarded the prison garb and baju kurong and changed into something else. The public is asked to look out for these discarded items and report to police.

AC Wong said police believe Mas Selamat is still in the country and urged the public to help look out for him. Police have received more than 600 calls and 170 emails from members of the public in recent days, providing leads for the round-the-clock search by police, military and Special Operations Command forces.

Noting that some of the information provided by the public was two or three days old, AC Wong said anyone with leads or tips-off should call the police immediately and not hold them back. He reiterated that no tip-off was too small for the police to chase up.

Asked if extra reserves will be brought in to track down the escapee, AC Wong said the current search forces are able to cope.

On Tuesday morning, about 100 Gurkhas and security forces were combing through the Bukit Timah nature reserves and the Dairy Farm area. Police also carried out massive searches in the Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands areas overnight till the early hours on Tuesday, after a man was seen running away from the security forces.

The fruitless hunt was called off after about six hours. On-going search will focus on forested areas and residential homes fringing these, as well as vacant buildings.

fatz2

Security firm offers $1,000 reward to staff to track down JI fugitive


A poster taken off political satire website TalkingCock.com that shows the many disguises that Mas Selamat could be using. -- PHOTO: AFP

A SECURITY service firm is offering a $1,000 reward to its 250 officers to help track down terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari, who has been on the run for more than five days now.

Metropolis Security Systems, who employs 250 guards in over 55 industrial, residential and commercial sites, put up the bounty in an internal circular to all its staff on Monday.

The notice, issued by the firm's General Manager James Soh, said the $1,000 reward is 'for any information leading to the successful capture and arrest' of JI detainee Mas Selamat, the militant leader of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) network in Singapore.

'With over 250 officers deployed island-wide, we hope to cover some grounds and hopefully mobilise our resources to help the authority,' Mr Mutaza Sarbini, Metropolis operations manager, told The Straits Times.

'We also believe that collective effort by security associations and other private security agencies in Singapore to consolidate effort and resources could bring about synergy and joint-effort with the Police in addressing the security issue at hand.'

Many Singaporeans and Netizens have suggested offering a reward to the public for information leading to the whereabouts of the fugitive, who escaped from a toilet in the Whitley Road Detention Centre last Wednesday at 4.05pm, where he had been held under the Internal Security Act.

Authorities believe he acted alone and is still in Singapore.

More than 1,000 police and security personnel are deployed in a nationwide search for Mas Selamat, who was linked to a plot to hijack a plane and crash it into the Singapore's Changi Airport.

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said on Sunday that there there was no evidence that Mas Selamat, a Singaporean, has fled the country.

Asked if the Government would offer a reward for the arrest of the JI fugitive, Mr Wong said 'this is not the practice of the police'.

Police have warned that Mas Selamat should be regarded as a dangerous man and advised against confronting him.

Given that it has more than 100 hours since his flight, he could already have changed his physical appearance, using disguises such as sunglasses, headdresses or caps, said police, adding that he may resort to stealing clothes and food to survive.

Over 54,000 posters and leaflets of the wanted man have been put up at public places and distributed to residents across Singapore.

fatz2

March 4, 2008         
Mas Selamat can hold out indefinitely: experts
By Teh Joo Lin


A Gurkha traverses the dense vegetation at the Bukit Timah nature reserve. The most verdant spots for a prolonged hideout include places like Mandai, Yishun, Lim Chu Kang and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (above), say experts. -- ST PHOTO: EDWIN KOO

IF FUGITIVE Mas Selamat Kastari is holed up in one of Singapore's sprawling forests, chances are he can hold out almost indefinitely, according to survival experts.

They say the country's most wanted man could dine on an array of fruits, plant shoots and small animals while he hides from authorities' waging the biggest manhunt in Singapore history.

The comments come as police and special forces scour jungles across the island in search of Mas Selamat. The reputed head of a local Jemaah Islamiah terror cell broke out of a detention centre on Whitley Road last Wednesday and authorities believe he is still on the island.

The most verdant spots for a prolonged hideout include places like Mandai, Yishun, Lim Chu Kang and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, say experts.

Retired trainer of the Singapore Armed Forces commando soldiers, Mr Tamiselvam, 57, said there are wild fruit, coconut and palm tree shoots, and tropical plants in Mandai.

Small animals, like iguana, snakes and flying squirrels could also be caught for meat, said Mr Tami. Yishun is rife with coastal food like sea shells, he added.

As well, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is rich in edible plants and fish, said a former chairman at the Nature Society (Singapore), Mr Sutari Supari, 57.

'All the fern shoots, like bird's nest ferns, and all the freshwater fish in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve are edible,' he said.

'Whatever you see the hornbills, monkeys and squirrels eating, it's safe to eat,' he said.

The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve was the site of day six of the massive search for Mas Selamat.

Tuesday saw the security forces trekking up Singapore's highest peak - the 164-metre Bukit Timah hill.

At 8am, joggers and students on a hike were greeted by the sight of about 300 officers from the Special Operations Command (SOC) and over 200 Nepalese Gurkhas searching the undergrowth and tunnels of the reserve.

Passing vehicles, including school buses, were also checked. The manhunt started on Hindhede Road and ended at Dairy Farm Road, but turned up nothing.

Read the full report in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.

fatz2

March 5, 2008         
HUNT FOR MAS SELAMAT - DAY 7
He could survive for a long time in forests: Experts
Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Mandai, Lim Chu Kang are some possible spots


OUT IN FORCE: The Nepalese Gurkha contingent marching back along Upper Bukit Timah Road after a massive manhunt yesterday for fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. -- ST PHOTO: EDWIN KOO

IF FUGITIVE Mas Selamat Kastari is holed up in one of Singapore's forested areas, chances are he can hold out almost indefinitely, according to survival experts.

They say the country's most wanted man could survive on a variety of fruits, plant shoots and small animals while he hides from the authorities waging the biggest manhunt in Singapore history.

The comments come as police and Special Operations Command (SOC) officers scour wooded areas across the island in search of Mas Selamat.

The head of the Singapore branch of the Jemaah Islamiah terror network broke out of a detention centre on Whitley Road last Wednesday, and authorities believe he is still on the island.

The most verdant spots for a prolonged hideout include places such as Mandai, Yishun, Lim Chu Kang and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, say experts.

One survival expert, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tamilselvam, said there are wild fruits, coconut and palm tree shoots, and edible tropical plants in Mandai.

Mr Tamilselvam, 57, who used to be an instructor to the Singapore Armed Forces Commandos, said small animals such as iguanas, snakes and flying squirrels could also be caught for meat.

A former office-holder with the Nature Society (Singapore), Mr Sutari Supari, 57, also said the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is rich in edible plants and fish.

'All the fern shoots, like bird's nest ferns, and all the freshwater fish in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve are edible,' he said.

'Whatever you see the hornbills, monkeys and squirrels eating, it's safe to eat,' he said.

The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve was the site of day seven of the massive search for Mas Selamat.

Yesterday saw the security forces trekking up Singapore's highest peak - the 164m Bukit Timah Hill.

At 8am, joggers and students on a hike were greeted by the sight of about 300 SOC officers and more than 200 Nepalese Gurkhas searching the undergrowth and tunnels of the reserve.

Passing vehicles, including school buses, were also checked.

The manhunt started in Hindhede Road and ended in Dairy Farm Road, but turned up nothing.

The seven-hour operation at Bukit Timah was one of several focused on wooded areas in the north-western part of Singapore.

In another manhunt which began on Monday night and lasted till early yesterday morning, officers from the SOC, the Gurkha contingent and the Jurong police division fanned out over an area framed by Woodlands Road near Yew Tee, Mandai Road and a stretch of the Bukit Timah Expressway.

Armed with torches, the officers trudged into the thick undergrowth. The crack of twigs and branches were the only sounds of the massive operation.

But by about 12.30am, the officers called a halt to it.

At a media briefing yesterday, police director of operations Wong Hong Kuan said police were searching the forests because, unlike built-up areas, 'there is no one to report anything to us'.

'In terms of areas that are populated, we are confident the message is there,' he said, referring to the police's appeals to the public for help in calling 999 if they have any information.

fatz2

March 5, 2008         
HUNT FOR MAS SELAMAT
Have you seen these clothes discarded anywhere?
Besides this standard detention centre attire, Mas Selamat was also wearing a long-sleeved baju kurung, the loose-fitting hip-length Malay shirt.
By Ben Nadarajan & Teh Joo Lin



THE police yesterday released information on what terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari was wearing when he broke out of jail last Wednesday.

Besides the standard attire of a beige T-shirt, brown drawstring pants and black rubber slippers which all detainees wear, he was also wearing a greenish-grey baju kurung, a long-sleeved, hip-length shirt.

The police said he was last seen in the baju kurung.

No explanation was given for why he had two sets of clothes on him, although detainees at the Whitley Road Detention Centre are allowed to change into civilian clothes when their families visit to 'facilitate interaction', the police said.

The police's director of operations, Assistant Commissioner Wong Hong Kuan, said this information was being released because the police now needed the public's help in looking out for these items, which the fugitive may have discarded.

Asked why this was being made public only one week after Mas Selamat's escape, he said it was because the authorities needed to ascertain what Mas Selamat had with him when he fled.

Also, they did not want the public to have a 'fixation' with a particular set of clothes since Mas Selamat could have already changed out of them.

'We believe he had all these items with him...but by now, he'd be able to change into any attire,' he said.

Various sightings of the wanted man by the public so far have also had him bare-bodied or wearing a T-shirt.

Since the breakout, police have received more than 600 calls to 999 and over 170 e-mail messages about the case.

AC Wong also reiterated the police's call for the public to report sightings and minor cases of theft, especially of clothes, money or food.

AC Wong, noting that people were worried about getting into trouble for reporting an apparent lead that turns out to be a dud, said: 'As long as the reports were made in good faith, nothing will happen to the person. Nothing is too minor for us to follow up on.'

The police still believe Mas Selamat is in Singapore.

The next focus of police operations will be on checking forests fringing private housing estates because Mas Selamat could be hiding in these woods, waiting for a chance to steal clothes, money, food or transportation.

Police are also not letting up in combing other forested or urban areas.

On Monday night, they cordoned off the jungle along Woodlands Road and combed it for at least five hours before standing down, still without their man.

A man had been seen running away from an enforcement officer and into the area, but he was not in clothes matching Mas Selamat's last-seen attire, and neither was his limp 'definitive', said AC Wong.

Yesterday morning, at about 7, another group of officers surrounded the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, about 10 minutes' drive from the Woodlands Road area.

Police Coast Guard boats also patrolled the seas off Singapore, including islands such as Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong.

benjamin@sph.com.sg

joolin@sph.com.sg

Ratu_Lybeau

tig_cun

hahaahahaha... kelakaaa seyy

fatz2

mas selamat sejak lari lagi dah selamat dah...

dorang cari jauh2 buat apa....singapore chinese girls school tu dekat jer dgn pusat tahan tu...

virgomal

kerelovani

ade yg mcm muka pua chu kang pon ade

holmes

bnyknya possibilities