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Singapore
to scale down manhunt for terror fugitive who escaped from prison
last month
Associated
Press
26 Mar
08
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/26/asia/AS-GEN-Singapore...
Singapore's
security forces will scale back a nationwide ground search for a
top Muslim terror suspect who made a stunning escape from a
high-security prison one month ago, the deputy prime minister
said Wednesday.
Troops hunting for Mas Selamat Kastari,
who allegedly once plotted to hijack an airplane and crash it
into the city-state's international airport, will start "targeted
and focused searches based on specific intelligence and leads,"
said Wong Kan Seng.
He gave no reason for the change in
tactics. But efforts to track down Mas Selamat have no doubt been
costly. Police, special operations officers, elite Gurkha guards
and soldiers have been combing the island nation's forests since
his embarrassing Feb. 27 jail break. Security also has been
tightened at land, air and sea checkpoints.
Wong said that
while the deployment of large ground forces would be scaled down,
"they remain operationally ready for immediate deployment
when needed," according to a statement posted on the Home
Affairs Ministry's Web site.
Security breaches are rare in
tightly controlled Singapore, an island nation of 4.5 million
people that is a 45-minute boat ride from Indonesia where Mas
Selamat is alleged to have links with the Jemaah Islamiyah terror
network, blamed for a series of attacks that have killed more
than 250 people since 2002.
Wong said authorities believed
Mas Selamat was still in the city-state and have set up coastal
observation points to make sure he does not flee.
The
nation's leaders have described Mas Selamat's jailbreak as a
setback to the reputation of the usually well-policed
country.
Mas
Selamat had been held in Singapore custody since February 2006
under the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite
detention without trial.
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