|
|
|
Escape
of 'terrorist' from toilet's beyond a joke
AFP
6
Mar
08
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/world/escape-of-terrorist...
Singapore's
government has come under stinging public criticism after the
escape of an alleged militant leader from custody dented the
country's reputation for airtight security.
Letters to the
editor and Internet blogs by Singaporeans took officials to task
for the escape last Wednesday of Mas Selamat bin Kastari, alleged
leader of the Singapore wing of the militant Islamic group Jemaah
Islamiyah.
Open criticism of the government is rare in
tightly ruled Singapore, but the apparent ease with which Kastari
managed to slip out of a detention centre raised questions about
the authorities' anti-terrorist measures.
Since his
escape, security forces including paramilitary Nepalese Gurkhas
employed by the police have been combing the island and keeping a
tight watch on its borders with Malaysia and Indonesia.
Kastari
was accused of plotting to hijack a plane in order to crash it
into Singapore's busy Changi Airport in 2001, but never charged
in court. He was being held under an internal security law which
allows for detention without trial.
The Ministry of Home
Affairs said Kastari escaped after he was permitted to use the
toilet during a visit by family members.
"I am sure
Singaporeans would like to know the details of the escape - what
happened from the time the terrorist left for the restroom while
his family members were waiting for him," said a letter from
reader Rosemary Chwee published Saturday by Singapore's leading
daily, The Straits Times.
"Such a slip is
professionally unforgivable... As a citizen, I am deeply
concerned, especially if Mas Selamat continues to be on the
loose," she wrote.
Police flyers seeking public help
in recapturing the 47-year-old Kastari say he is "not known
to be armed" and walks with a limp.
"What
puzzles me is how a middle-aged man who has difficulty walking
can leave the detention center with such ease," wrote
another reader, Siow Jia Rui.
Another letter writer, Lee
Beng Hai, suspected Kastari could have been helped by "sleepers
and sympathisers."
Internet blog sites - the usual
refuge of Singapore government critics who are denied space in
the mainstream media - were full of chatter and conspiracy
theories on the escape.
Even the Straits Times, which is
closely identified with the government, said in an editorial that
the authorities had to confront the question of whether Kastari
had help.
"It stretches credulity to imagine this was
an opportunistic solo effort... The escape was too easy, too
neat," it said.
If he had help, it would mean "terror
cells are still morphing and sympathisers are being drawn into
the network," the newspaper said.
If he acted alone,
"the system breakdown was egregious," it
added.
"Security incidents like this one... will
shake confidence in the anti-terror system."
The
editorial said complacency may have set in because Singapore has
been spared from terrorist violence so far.
Since the
September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, Singapore has
implemented tough security measures and rounded up suspected
militants and sympathisers of the Jemaah Islamiyah.
The
group has been blamed for a series of attacks including the 2002
bombings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali which killed 202
people, mostly tourists.
|
|
