JI Leader Mas Selamat Escaped From Detention Centre
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Channel NewsAsia - 48 minutes ago
Key database useful in hunt for Mas Selamat
SINGAPORE: Officers searching for escaped Jemaah Islamiyah leader, Mas Selamat Kastari, are using a database to make their hunt more effective.
Mas Selamat escaped from Whitley Road Detention Centre some three weeks ago. The 47—year—old is alleged to have been the mastermind of a plot to crash a hijacked plane into Changi Airport.
The database used in the hunt contains key information such as the location of vacant buildings in Singapore and possible hideouts used by illegal immigrants.
These details come under a programme called Operations Terrain Mapping, which has been updated over the last three years by Home Team officers who registered their observations and contact networks on the database to tackle crime and terrorism.
There are also plans to enhance the IT system that centrally stores and shares such terrain information to allow the Home Team to share some parts of the database with other ministries and possibly grassroots organisations in the future.
This was revealed by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng on Tuesday at a workshop for some 700 Home Team officers from agencies like the Police Force and the Internal Security Department.
DPM Wong said: "Our sector officers were able to identify 121 vacant or abandoned buildings within a day and the search operations conducted against these sites were mounted expeditiously. This swift response would not have been possible had we not already marked these buildings in our terrain maps. Another example was the location of cordons and road blocks.
"As the search operations expanded islandwide in response to public calls, our officers were able to swiftly set up cordon lines and road blocks which were pre—identified in the terrain maps. This enabled us to swiftly lock in the search area while other officers commenced the searches."
He added that these officers will face more complex tasks in the future, but efforts to build stronger relationships with various communities will pay off.
In fact, the deputy prime minister said, such partnerships have already contributed to the fast mobilisation of the community in the search for Mas Selamat. Many organisations have stepped forward to help distribute over 210,000 pamphlets on the fugitive.
With more officers involved in the on—going search for Mas Selamat, the attendance at this year’s Home Team workshop was lower compared to last year.
And despite the security breach that led to Mas Selamat’s escape, Mr Wong told his audience that the Home Team spirit is still very much alive.
He said: "Indeed, without excusing the lapse which led to Mas Selamat’s escape, our Home Team officers should not lose heart for they have done much to be proud of. The work of the Home Team must go on because life goes on in society, whether it is to combat crime, drugs or fire hazards or deal with those who break the law."
On a separate note, seven groups received the Home Team Achievement Awards at the workshop. — CNA/so
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Can we wear mas selamat T shirt
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Beige color ok for you?
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Originally posted by will4:
I thought the Gurkhan have been sent in to search for the terrorist?Gurkhas are well known for their courage & loyalty but it is the animistic jungle people who rule the forest.By the way,Ghurkas and SAF soldiers have gone for the same Jungle warfare course conducted by the British SAS but who taught the British in Borneo? The Dayaks
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Gurkha nowadays not like last time one. Now "pian chia" one
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Originally posted by Short Ninja:
Gurkhas are well known for their courage & loyalty but it is the animistic jungle people who rule the forest.By the way,Ghurkas and SAF soldiers have gone for the same Jungle warfare course conducted by the British SAS but who taught the British in Borneo? The Dayaks
Is it true accoring to the paper that the terrorist used to serve his full time NS in an elite unit? His training stint in Afghanistan is being put in good use though. -
at least, looking on the brighter side,
we found out that
we should not be complacent again.
before 911, did usa know how weak its intelligence is?
all the glorious news about usa mighty super power.
911 and up to now the shock and effect lingers.
much like the world war 2 atom bomb effect.
complacent no more. no more chance.
1 thing usa impressed me was
the accountable leadership of USA intelligence who resigned.
he could have said he was not the one who bombed the towers.
he could have said he was not the one who taught the terror how to fly.
he could have said he was not the one who did the hands-on intell collection.
he could have done many things.
he resigned.
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Originally posted by will4:
Is it true accoring to the paper that the terrorist used to serve his full time NS in an elite unit? His training stint in Afghanistan is being put in good use though.When the JI plan was exposed some said that a former regular was one of those arrested but I dont know if they were talking about Mas Selamat
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It is unlikely that MSK had any special combat training in the SAF based on the present undeclared sensitivities that the Political Leadership has towards ''special groups'' of Singaporeans.
The nearest tough training that MSK would have received that resemble combat training will be with the Fire Department of the Singapore Civil Defence Force - where training is reputed to be very physical.
Coming back to the search for MSK, it is amazing that the Home Team is depending on its own resources as reported in Wednesday Straits Times, where the Flood Lamps from SCDF were used to light up the thick secondary jungle.
How deep can the flood lamps penetrate the thick foliage of the secondary jungle, when these flood lamps are designed to light up a limited general area from its tall mast ?
It will only cast more shadows with these lamps, and alert MSK to the presence of the search team, as well as to give him an early warning to the general direction of the search efforts.
Are the resources of the SAF and DSTA being tapped ?
During the SARS crisis, the SAF heat detectors - developed by DSTA - were quickly modified for civilian application that allow large flow of human traffic to be monitored, filtering out those in the crowd with fever.
Surely, military technologies in the SAF can now be employed to search for MSK in the dark ?
Night vision goggles for the search parties will help the search in the dark better than the flood lamps.
Low light and infra-red cameras, heat sensors or detectors can be mounted on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles {UAV} - to allow the search over large area to be more systematic, and allow penetration of the thick foliage of the secondary jungle.
The same equipment can be used to scan the canals and larger monsoon drains that are dry most of the time, and provide a natural axis for MSK to move over long distances away from watchful eyes.
The leadership tasked to recapture MSK will need to be more imaginative and resourceful as MSK is in avoiding capture.
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ai...its only over 3 weeks since he fled.
soon lah. soon he will be caught lah.
i confident 6 months, or less.
;)
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Funny thing about mas,...... he escaped, yes, detention personnel at fault, yes,... Singapore is doing the very best to capture him, yet,.....
How is it that Malaysia and Indonesia is doing almost nothing about it? There is no step up measure through their immigration to capture this terrorist. Is mas selamat not dangerous to our neighbouring countries or they do not care for their own national safety? Or is it that they are almost certain that mas selamat is not a threat to them at all!?!?!?!?!? They are not afraid of terrorist at all!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
In that case aren't they in cahoots with the terrorist themselves slowly grinning at the misfortune of the neighbour?
zzzzzz
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Originally posted by Reg:
Funny thing about mas,...... he escaped, yes, detention personnel at fault, yes,... Singapore is doing the very best to capture him, yet,.....
How is it that Malaysia and Indonesia is doing almost nothing about it? There is no step up measure through their immigration to capture this terrorist. Is mas selamat not dangerous to our neighbouring countries or they do not care for their own national safety? Or is it that they are almost certain that mas selamat is not a threat to them at all!?!?!?!?!? They are not afraid of terrorist at all!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
In that case aren't they in cahoots with the terrorist themselves slowly grinning at the misfortune of the neighbour?
zzzzzz
Are you suggesting that the Malaysian and Indonesian authorities are in cahoots with MSK ?Have you forgotten that it was the Indonesians Special Squad that tracked and arrested MSK - and handed him over to Singapore even when there is no extradition treaty signed between them and us ?
Indonesia could have let him off - after jailing him twice on two separate charges.
How would you know that Indonesia and Malaysia may not have activated their internal security and intelligence groups to monitor the movements of certain groups of persons in their respective territories ?
Does it not surprise you that Indonesia was able to track and arrest MSK in a country that has a population size that is 10 times larger than Singapore, and with a land mass 100 time larger that consist of more then 1000 islands of assorted sizes ?
Yet, with all the boasted 3G military hardware, and a modern police force that Singapore is supposedly to feel safe with, it has been 3 weeks since MSK escaped and we are seeing the Home Team searching at all the wrong places with new reports that MSK was seen in the opposite direction.
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hey guys,
i am worried.
i am more and more worried as the days that the guy is on the loose increases.
as long as he is not re-captured, there is risk to society. who can refute this? tell me.
and since this is true, should we not be concerned?
the innocent, naive children living here, how can they protect themselves from a weird guy ?
i urge and hope and like to feel more re-assured.
life is precious.
sgpore reputation is at stake.
too many things are at stake.
erm...everything is at stake.
sigh...
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More about him: http://where-is-mas-selamat.com/
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Hi
The SECURITY LAPSE was an Acknowledged mistake.
That is 1 issue to be concerned.
The other issue , among some other issues, is why is it taking more than 3 weeks , into the 4th week, to locate 1 single limping man in the little dot?
These spinned off other real security concerns.
I am a concerned citizen voicing out for the rest, at my own expense.
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This is damn funny:
Oppositions to be blamed for Mas Selamat's escape
I have an important message for those who blame our esteemed Minister Wong Kan Seng for this incident. I put the blame squarely on the members of the Opposition. Here's why:
WKS as minister cannot possibly know the detention center that well - you expect minister to inspect every toilet there? You expect the minister to train every guard? He has already apologised and taken responsibility. However, the members of the Opposition are the ones I blame for this mess.
A number Opposition members have been detained under the ISA and know this detention center inside out. They probably are familiar with the toilet used by Mas Selamat and the security flaws in the detention center - the redoctrination that purges them of harmful thoughts can temporarily increase the urge to escape. Knowing that the govt was detaining terrorist there, why didn't they point out the possible ways of escape to the govt? ...I don't think the Opposition has any valid reasons for denying responsibility for the escape, many have been detained there over the years and they spend more time there than almost anyone else.
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Originally posted by balance_else_complacent:
Hi
The SECURITY LAPSE was an Acknowledged mistake.
That is 1 issue to be concerned.
The other issue , among some other issues, is why is it taking more than 3 weeks , into the 4th week, to locate 1 single limping man in the little dot?
These spinned off other real security concerns.
I am a concerned citizen voicing out for the rest, at my own expense.
i was taking a joyride early this morning to sembawang park. saw 2 police tent post set-up there at to ends of the park. on the one hand, you pity those 2 policemen who got stuck there in a small tent, especially in the rainy weather nowadays, but on the other hand, as i walked past them, both were intently reading their New Paper (Sunday edition) [yes, each has their own copy], oblivous to the surroundings for a few minutes. well, MSK could have limped past them and they would have missed him. they should at least take turns to take time off instead of both doing reading the papers.
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Just for extra info, Sembawang park gets a patrol from NSF doing Ops Bacinet and police patrol car every x hours. I'm using x because I don't want to reveal how long exactly.
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There are still MPs and Soldiers patrolling Labrador Park yesterday.I estimate patrols to be half an hour routine for the whole park.
Base operation seems to be at the new carpark there.Forces are also seen at the jetty pier area of the Park.Food supplies such as biscuits and water can be seen around
On one hand,i wanted to scold the MP for having nothing better to do than to patrol here and there
On the other hand,i think our car was safe because we parked next to their base operation centre
Selamat is not advised to try anything foolish there
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All the searching that is to be done is already done.
and like the Heineken commercial: "And now we wait."
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well, i am impressed by the concerns for our city's security shown by our long time contributors of sgf.
i am thinking, with so many MPs and top talents, all of higest market value, could they come up any estimation as to how many days, weeks, months or years would it take to re-capture our man so as to achieve security, justice and prosperity for our pore again?
i would need to know if its not possible to give an estimation, why it is so. i mean, the women and children and the old and fragile living in the pore needs some kind of assurance. so too do our investors and tourists.
in my humble and personal opinion, it does not serve any good for the pore if this info is not made known to the concerned and some worried residents of the city.
As the pore is only a tiny dot, i am confident that in less than 6 months or less, our abang will be re-captured, IF he really is still limping around in the pore.
i try to calm myself to sleep each night by thinking that, hey its only 1 limping man and not an army of terrorists. should be ok lah. should be manageable by our high high market value talented talents of the world.
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Originally posted by redDUST:
i was taking a joyride early this morning to sembawang park. saw 2 police tent post set-up there at to ends of the park. on the one hand, you pity those 2 policemen who got stuck there in a small tent, especially in the rainy weather nowadays, but on the other hand, as i walked past them, both were intently reading their New Paper (Sunday edition) [yes, each has their own copy], oblivous to the surroundings for a few minutes. well, MSK could have limped past them and they would have missed him. they should at least take turns to take time off instead of both doing reading the papers.
they are also trying to update themselves on the msk case. cnt blame them...
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hey guys... spare a thought for the MPs and other unit people le.. they are NSF.. all got donno how many weekends burnt, and their daily routine got disrupted suddenly
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Originally posted by balance_else_complacent:
well, i am impressed by the concerns for our city's security shown by our long time contributors of sgf.
i am thinking, with so many MPs and top talents, all of higest market value, could they come up any estimation as to how many days, weeks, months or years would it take to re-capture our man so as to achieve security, justice and prosperity for our pore again?
i would need to know if its not possible to give an estimation, why it is so. i mean, the women and children and the old and fragile living in the pore needs some kind of assurance. so too do our investors and tourists.
in my humble and personal opinion, it does not serve any good for the pore if this info is not made known to the concerned and some worried residents of the city.
As the pore is only a tiny dot, i am confident that in less than 6 months or less, our abang will be re-captured, IF he really is still limping around in the pore.
i try to calm myself to sleep each night by thinking that, hey its only 1 limping man and not an army of terrorists. should be ok lah. should be manageable by our high high market value talented talents of the world.
have a Heineken before you go to bed.
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I just read this interesting article. What if Mas Selamat is like Lincoln Burrows from Prison Break? He was detained for 1 yr and no charges given out to imprison him in Changi? What if he was setup?
Condemn him if he is plotting to hurt innocent people!!!!!!! I want him captured soon. But now still havent haha...
Just something to twist your minds a bit.
A blog article from Gopalan Nair. His essays are very biased towards the garmen.
http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/2008/03/go-mastari-go-mas-selamat-mastari-my.html