Currently, the Singapore authorities have done their best in a nationwide manhunt for Mas Selamat Kastari, leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network in Singapore, who escaped from the country's Whitley road detention center on February 27.
Singapore accused the 47-year-old Mas Selamat of plotting to hijack a plane in order to crash it into the Changi Airport in 2001. He fled the city-state in 2001 and lived in neighboring Indonesia's Riau islands before he was nabbed by the Indonesian police in 2003 for violating the country's immigration laws. He was sent back to Singapore in 2006, and had since then been detained under the internal security act that allows for detention without trial.
Thousands of policemen and armed soldiers have begun the search since February, the biggest manhunt in the history of Singapore, but they have so far failed to capture the terrorist who is believed to be still in the country.
Policemen and armed soldiers have searched different parts of the island, checking homes, abandoned buildings, schools, vehicles and forest.
The Singapore authorities have also tightened checks at variousland, sea and air checkpoints. Checks of vehicles at the Woodlandsand Tuas checkpoints to Malaysia have caused traffic jams of several kilometers long.
The manhunt has also gone to the grassroots. Posters of Mas Selamat Kastari has flooded the city-state as the authorities seek public help to nab the country's most wanted man.
Multi-media short messages with a photograph of the man were sent by the three local telcos to the 5.5 million cellphones here just one day after he escaped.
Police have so far received over 1,100 emails and calls from the public about information or possible sighting of Mas Selamat.
Singapore has also alerted neighboring Malaysia and Indonesia, and notified the Paris-based International Police (Interpol).
Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has warned that Singapore is in danger of an attack if Mas Selamat gets into Indonesia where he "has his old networks".
Mas Selamat's escape has affected the city-state's reputation. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described the escape as a lapse, saying that "it's not done our reputation good."
Making his first public comments on the matter, Lee on Sunday said that the escape is undoubtedly a setback and it should never have happened.
He added that the authorities are not absolutely sure yet what happened. But they will find out what went wrong and put things right.
He also called on Singaporeans to close ranks to help the country bounce back from the setback.
The prime minister said that Singapore remained optimistic it can capture the fugitive if he is still in Singapore.
The Singapore police said on Monday that they believe that the escapee is still in Singapore as there is no evidence to show he has fled the country.
A committee of inquiry has been set up to look into how the escape occurred while the Singapore authorities have doubled its efforts to re-capture the JI leader.
Source:Xinhua
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