Singapore’s most wanted man, Mas Selamat Kastari has been caught in Johor Bahru!
I just read this in the headline of the Straits Times today. Apparently, he was caught on 1 April 20009 (really, it’s not an April’s Fool Day joke), but details have only just been leaked by the Malaysian authorities.
After thirteen months on the run, the guy who has his face plastered in every notch and corner of Singapore in the biggest manhunt ever is finally captured. The ironic is he had been hiding just a stone’s throw away in nearby Johor all this while!
There’s no details yet as to how he managed to slip across the Singapore-Malaysian customs, amidst the heightened security check after his escape. That would be something a lot of us would want to find out.
Here’s the report via Straits Times.com:
Mas Selamat captured
May 8, 2009
Fugitive who escaped from Whitley detention centre last year is tracked down and captured in Johor after tip-off from Singapore; he is being held for interrogation by Malaysia
By Leslie Lopez, Senior Regional Correspondent
Sources told The Straits Times that Mas Selamat was tracked down based on intelligence provided by Singapore’s Internal Security Department (ISD), and a joint operation by Malaysia and Singapore’s security agencies eventually led to his arrest.
KUALA LUMPUR: Thirteen months after his audacious escape from detention in Singapore, Mas Selamat Kastari has been caught in Malaysia.
Singapore’s most wanted terrorist was captured on April 1 while hiding in Johor, regional intelligence sources told The Straits Times.
Intelligence provided by Singapore’s Internal Security Department late last year led to a joint operation between Malaysia and Singapore’s security agencies that eventually saw them arresting Mas Selamat in Johor in April.
It was not the first time that information from Singapore helped to nab the escape artist.
… more
It is believed that he was nabbed in the outskirts of Johor Baru and is now being held by the Malaysian authorities for interrogation.
It is not known how he slipped out of Singapore or when he entered Malaysia.
Intelligence provided by Singapore’s Internal Security Department late last year led to a joint operation between Malaysia and Singapore’s security agencies that eventually saw them arresting Mas Selamat in Johor in April.
It was not the first time that information from Singapore helped to nab the escape artist.
In February 2003, tip-offs by the Singapore authorities had led Indonesian police to monitor Mas Selamat’s movements after he arrived in Indonesia. They tracked him to Tanjung Pinang in Bintan, arresting him just after he arrived by ferry from Dumai in Riau.
After Mas Selamat was released in August 2005, the Singapore police made another request to their Indonesian counterparts to track him again.
In January 2006, they found him at a neighbourhood mosque in Sengkaling, East Java. He was handed over to Singapore the following month.
Although he was arrested six weeks ago, the Malaysian authorities have not yet announced the capture.
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at least the Malaysian authorities are doing a better job than our Home Team at keeping him in captivity.
sing chyun, it is general knowledge that malaysian authorities never solve 99% of the crimes happening in m’sia. they r not competent at all and only interested in hiding at road side bushes or traffic light junctions to catch people making illegal U turns or speeding. how can they easily trace him when singapore can’t find him in the entire island? it doesn’t make sense. don’t believe everything u hear in e news. for all you know, it could b totally different…
“There’s no details yet as to how he managed to slip across the Singapore-Malaysian customs, amidst the heightened security check after his escape. That would be something a lot of us would want to find out.”
As you have known, Alvin, they only let the public know 4 hours later. During that 4 hours, the check at the immigration is still like normal. I went through during that period too so I know. While Malaysia side is so easy to sneak through as nobody is guarding the coastline. Even if you hitch a ride, you just need to flash your Malaysian passport cover (fake also can) and our most advanced immigration system in the world can detect your identity with high tech industrial grade cameras with computer vision algorithms to let you through. no need fingerprints!
Hey bro, you really don’t think very highly of M’sia! hahaha
Give the police some credit lah, they really caught Mas Selamat this time.
Sidetracking, there’s a lot of “Selamat Datang” jokes after Mas Selamat escaped, seems like it really came true!
I would have expected him to be hidden somewhere like Indonesia, somewhere further but apparently he was so near yet so far.
“Apparently, he was caught on 1 April 20009 ” – Too many zero, lah.
isn’t the sea surrounding us being surveillance 24/7 with high-tech infared cameras and all? now that’s all a lie when someone as plump as Mas Selamat can swim over I guess.
Everything about MSk is very suspicious, Why was he in Whitley DC and allowed to escape, by whom and how and why? If he is such a dangerous terrorist why was he there in the first place, security level was lacking,
If the SG task force, the police, army and ISD is so efficient why arent he hunted? they were caught in JB???? what a joke…
If to what I know , there are more than 1 gropu of Jemaah Islamiyah in th world ! Mas Selemat received training to be selected in th roles of leader & it was at th branch in Singapore ( to what i know in internet) . But somehow I had a lot of question in my head
1. Why th other member of th group in Singapore didnt take the chance to save him ?
2. If th other group from different countries know th escape of Mas Selemat , did they try to help him ?
3. Or when th first time Mas Selemat was captured , is that a distraction actions from him ?
@unknown, maybe the govt knew where he was all along, afterall there’s such thing as personal GPS, implanted into the body, maybe he was “allowed” to escape so that the rest can be caught.
think about it, how is it possible to be so easy to escape
Send him to an internationalized Gitmo. Feed him well. Don’t torture him. Let him stay there for “the duration”.
ermmm… i just read your blog.. nice info and good tips..
how can the Singapore police conduct operations on foreign soil? So why don’t you say SAF should be in Mumbai killing the terrorists too? If he’s escaped to M’sia then there’s no way SPF can do the actual nabbing but work together with M’sian police.
this blog attracts people of the same IQ level as its creator hahaha. how funny!!
Were it in my power to invite the Singapore Police into my USA, I would do so in a NY minute. Lot’s of ex-war criminals here to pick up.
Good information, it seems pretty cool 🙂 This blogpost is just awesome! Thanks for the info!