Mas Selamat's relatives aided escape
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He was helped by his niece, bro's wife and bro two days after his escape.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1094848/1/.html
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SINGAPORE: Mas Selamat Kastari, the leader of the Singapore arm of terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, had help after his escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre (WRDC) on 27 February, 2008.
He was harboured by four family members before escaping to Malaysia, revealed Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam in a Ministerial Statement in Parliament on Monday.
Three family members have since been convicted in court and jailed. The fourth was left off with a stern warning.
Mas Selamat had made his way to his brother Asmom's home in Tampines, a busy neighbourhood in the eastern part of Singapore, two days after the escape.
He was greeted by his 25-year-old niece Nur Aini Asmom, who then persuaded her mother Aisah to allow Mas Selamat into their flat.
Mas Selamat subsequently stayed one night at his brother's home.
The JI fugitive remained elusive until May 2009 when it surfaced that he'd been detained by Malaysia authorities.
It was revealed then that Mas Selamat had been hiding in a small village in Johor Bahru.
He was finally handed back to Singapore authorities on September 24, 2010.
Authorities found out about his family's involvement in his escape about a month later, in October.
For harbouring the terrorist after his escape, Mas Selamat's brother, the brother's wife and their daughter, have been jailed between three and 18 months.
Nur Aini, who was a Malay language teacher, was sentenced to 18 months' jail.
His brother, Asmom, was given 12 months while his sister-in-law Aisah, three months' jail.
The three were arrested and charged on November 10. They were convicted of the charge and sentenced on November 18.
Mas Selamat's nephew Mahadir, who had a lesser role in the matter, has been served a stern warning in lieu of prosecution.
Mr Shanmugam said Mas Selamat had wanted to seek shelter and help from Nur Aini, thinking that his niece was living alone.
The Minister added that Nur Aini persuaded her mother to allow Mas Selamat to enter the flat.
She gave him use of her bedroom, provided him food and water, and also assisted him by destroying the clothing he wore to the flat, which included his WRDC-issued attire.
The next day, Nur Aini applied make-up on Mas Selamat and secured a tudung -- or headscarf -- over his head to disguise him as a woman.
She also gave him several items, including more clothing, snacks, an illumination light stick and a map of Singapore that showed part of Malaysia.
Early that morning, Mas Selamat's 58-year-old brother returned home from work. He knew it was wrong to harbour Mas Selamat, but decided to let him stay anyway.
Before his brother left the flat, Asmom gave him S$100 and RM100 to facilitate his escape from Singapore to Malaysia.
Asmom's 58-year-old wife Aisah gave Mas Selamat an EZ-link card and hair-net which he wore as part of his disguise, and some paracetamol.
There was also Mas Selamat's nephew Mahadir, who had come home on 29 February night and discovered his uncle at home.
Authorities said 29-year-old Mahadir did not render specific help, and was not in the flat much.
However, he did not report the matter to the authorities.
Mr Shanmugam said the independent accounts on what took place in the Asmom home are consistent.
But Mas Selamat's own account of how he then made his way to Malaysia is still unverified.
Mr Shanmugam said the three had knowingly harboured Mas Selamat, an escaped prisoner of the State, who they knew was the subject of a massive manhunt.
They deliberately withheld information when they were interviewed by the authorities on March 3, 2008.
It was only in October this year, after being confronted with the facts, that they admitted to what had happened.
Mr Shanmugam said Asmom and his family's decision to harbour Mas Selamat and provide him with material support that enabled him to escape to Malaysia was very wrong, illegal, and had grave security implications.
That's because Mas Selamat could then resume his terrorist activities as well as plans to attack Singapore.
Mr Shanmugam said Singaporeans will be understandably disappointed that Asmom and his family had helped Mas Selamat in his escape.
But he added that their actions are not a reflection on the wider Malay-Muslim community who had disapproved of Mas Selamat's deeds, and participated in the manhunt for him in 2008.
Mr Shanmugam said Singaporeans should not allow this episode to affect the trust and goodwill that has been built up over the years between the different communities.
Instead, he said this should reinforce how important it is for every Singaporean to unite and assist the security agencies to overcome the threat of terrorism.
As to how Mas Selamat made his way to his brother's flat and how he subsequently made his way to Malaysia, Mr Shanmugam said the account given by Mas Selamat is still subject to verification.
Read the full text of the Ministerial Statement here
-CNA/wk/fa -
well, someone had to help him.. no one else will
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this was funny:
The next day, Nur Aini applied make-up on Mas Selamat and secured a tudung -- or headscarf -- over his head to disguise him as a woman.
Remember some of the jokes that were flying around after his escape?
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this one?
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Come on, if your ah bang ask you for help, you will help him.
I will do the same thing if I am the brother.
It is funny that one of the lousy croony is disappointed even though he is a ah bang himself.
It only show that the force did not do a thorough check on the relatives during the escape.
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Now, the true story is out.
Who is complacent ?
The guy who made that statement better hide his shit face.
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Originally posted by the Bear:
this one?
oh ya! this one . LOL LOL LOL -
Maybe now, his whole family will do a mass breakout. But it must sucks to be the guy who was let off with a stern warning, confirm discriminated by everyone he knows.
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Seriously, if someone escaped custody, the first people you would home in on are those of direct kin (family duh). Next thing would be to keep an eye, and a barrier between that. Apparently, the authorities didn't put that in perspective, until a month later.
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lim peh ka li kong. I hope CID intelligence was not sleeping on the job by not tracking lassi lomak's closer family members and relatives at all. Fancy dat they masuk the jungle to find lau kau maybe ah! During my time long long ago, when deceased criminal Lim Ban Lim was the Robin Hood of LorongTai Seng, I was told those old-timer mata went searching for their family members and relatives and night-clubs and under the big lokang also leh. You know ah, Lim Ban Lim si beh tok kong pai kia in Lorong Tai Seng was one of his territories who always held two handguns and shot well with both hands. However, one fine night, he was shot by one handsome wana mata in Margaret Drive in front of Block 6C. I was among the road-measureres at that time around the 70s. I believe many of your parents hadn’t parthology yet lah! Malu man, how come today mata kana sai don’t know how to check loved ones first. The computer system in CID Hq koleng pai liao – rosak lah! So, maybe couldn’t track lassi lomak’s loved ones at all and then masuk jungle to find lau kau like Ah Seow. LOL!
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And chuah this blog site bui sai correction leh? Bo edit also. Anyway, correction: road-measurers and not measureres.
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Ai yah! Ang chuah - not And chuah. wa jo pai say gai = I had destroyed whole world in Hokkien if you need to know.
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I find it hard to believe that he actually seek refuge in his brother's house without the Singapore Police Force (SPF) ever finding out prior to his confession.
Didn't the SPF put surveillance outside his immediate family's house or tap their phones?
Ooops!!!
I forgot the clown Minister WKS was in charge of the SPF apart from the Internal Security Department (ISD) in which Mas Selamat Kastari escaped from a toilet.
But then following in PAP's reasoning, it's probably not WKS's fault, it's the fault of the police that didn't put surveillance teams on his immediate family.
I wish I had a job like his, multi million dollar salary but with no responsibility whatsoever. It's the world's most sought after job, even more sought after than the island caretaker in Australia.
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Police should take the blame for not fully checked on mas immediate family members and never even place cid to monitor their activities.
Now, who is complacent?
And what did our policeforce been doing?
And why the checking of their immediate family prove nothing?
Is there also some police men helping mas to escape too?
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just IMHO, no offense.
1) if he can escape all the way to tampines, why he need sgp map? to go mys?
2) these terrorists are playing on the knife edge of religion sensitivity. by using a tudung, he escapes most if not all survelliances. Going forward, this tudung thing may be a potential "concern/issue".
3) I don't think that harsher punishment is the way. Some even ask for repossessing of their flat, absurb la. These are still people and they just got misguided by a highly trained professional and furthermore a family kin. I still think they should be given rehabiliation so the "anger" that they may have are not turned into something worse or used as an example.
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Amazing how our police force could overlook such an obvious thing. Or could it be that Mas second-guessed our mata and outwitted them.
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this guy has indonesian roots. Mas in indonesia is a greeting for young men...and selamat means safe. In the first place, how did Singapore grant him a citizenship?
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Hundreds probed after Mas Selamat's escape
SINGAPORE: A few hundred people including Mas Selamat Kastari's own extended family - numbering nearly a hundred - were investigated following the escape of the Jemaah Islamiah leader from detention on 27 February, 2008.
The others included the fugitive's friends and ex-JI associates, said Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam in Parliament on Monday.
He was responding to questions from MPs following his statement to the House that Mas Selamat had sought shelter at his brother Asmom's flat in Tampines from February 29 to March 1 and had help also from his sister-in-law and niece, to facilitate his escape out of Singapore to Malaysia.
Uppermost on the minds of Malay-Muslim MPs were concerns of a backlash against the community.
"Given the fact that Mas Selamat did escape in a tudung, will the Ministry assure the Malay community that there won't be unnecessary scrutiny on Malay women wearing tudung in security areas and when they seek appointments for jobs," asked Zaqy Mohamed, MP for Hong Kah GRC.
In reply, Mr Shanmugam said: "Whether someone is picked up for scrutiny, whether he or she is wearing a tudung, really depends on security assessments. It's really difficult to answer these questions in a vacuum. If there is an intelligence assessment and if there is a necessity to check, there will be a check. If there is no reason to check, there will be none.
"As to the broader question, the government has consistently stated over the years that the actions of a few are not a reflection of the Malay-Muslim community as a whole.
"Our position remains unchanged. Over the years, the actions of the Malay-Muslim community have borne that out. They have been very supportive of our efforts to build a tolerant, united community. They have consistently spoken out against violence in the name of any religion.
"There is no reason for employers or anyone else to shy away from employing members of the Malay-Muslim community or for anyone to use this incident as an excuse to target members of the Malay-Muslim community.
"In the civil service, the recruitment policy is based on a system of meritocracy. I can state categorically that this incident will not affect the government's recruitment policies. Employers in the private sector, (too), should hire based on the individual's suitability for the job."
Mr Shanmugam also stressed that the threat Mas Selamat posed was to Singapore as a whole.
"His actions put all Singaporeans at risk. As such, all Singaporeans across the communities will feel disappointed with the actions of Asmom and his family. Their actions should not be projected on the Malay community at large."
Also raised in Parliament was the gravity of the sentences meted out to those who had harboured Mas Selamat.
MP Maliki Osman wanted to know, given the seriousness of the offence, if the sentences to Asmom and his family members were too lenient.
Under the law, a person who knowingly harbours or conceals any such fugitive is liable to life imprisonment or a jail term of up to 15 years, and be fined as well.
Mr Shanmugam said the sentences were based on submissions from both the prosecution and defence.
He said: "The sentences in our view reflect the different degrees of involvement of the family in harbouring and aiding Mas Selamat. Nur Aini was obviously the most culpable, (so) she has been given the longest jail sentence. The other two were given shorter sentences because of their lesser involvement. The court is likely to have given weight to the fact that the assistance was not pre-meditated, rather the three persons appear to have acted on misguided instinct on family ties, on the spur of the moment."- CNA/ir
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of course family and relative must help Mas Selamat lah................otherwise what good are they.........
i'll be very very disappointed if they never help Selamat................i'll lose all faith in humanity liao...........
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Originally posted by Honeybunz:
He was helped by his niece, bro's wife and bro two days after his escape.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1094848/1/.html
Of course he was aided in his escape.You think he's Mas "HOUDINI" Selamat?
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Originally posted by Rock^Star:
this guy has indonesian roots. Mas in indonesia is a greeting for young men...and selamat means safe. In the first place, how did Singapore grant him a citizenship?
Wasn't he born a Singaporean? -
Originally posted by SinglishSpeaker:
And chuah this blog site bui sai correction leh? Bo edit also. Anyway, correction: road-measurers and not measureres.
Why you got so many lao gao?
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it's a honest mistake...
let's move on...
You want some?