Mas Selamat Kastari | |
---|---|
Born | Kendal, Central Java, Indonesia | 23 January 1961
Occupation(s) | Former bus mechanic, alleged head of the Singapore branch of Jemaah Islamiyah |
Criminal status | Arrested and held by Internal Security Department, under the Internal Security Act |
Children | 6 |
Criminal charge | None [1] |
Mas Selamat Kastari (born 23 January 1961), a Muslim Indonesian-born Singaporean, was for more than a year Singapore's most-wanted fugitive after escaping from detention on 27 February 2008. The search for him has been described as the largest manhunt ever launched in Singapore. [2] He was eventually recaptured in Skudai, Malaysia, on 1 April 2009, over a year after his escape, and has since been returned to Singapore. [3] [4] His escape was found to be one of the events in Singapore's history that Singaporeans were most aware of, with 95% being aware of it. [5]
In January 2006, Mas Selamat was arrested by Indonesian anti-terror squads in Java and deported to Singapore. He was suspected of plotting to bomb Singapore Changi Airport in January 2002, [6] and, according to the Singapore Police Force, he had initially planned to do so by crashing a plane into the airport. [4] However, Mas Selamat has never been formally charged with any terrorism-related offences; [1] instead, he was detained under the country's Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial. [7]
Born in 1961 in Kendal, Central Java, in Indonesia, Mas Selamat grew up in Kaki Bukit in Singapore leading a typical childhood kampung life. He attended the Kaki Bukit Primary School, and was known simply as "Selamat" to his neighbors. In the early 1980s, Mas Selamat moved to a flat in Bedok Reservoir where he married and had five children. [8] [9] [10]
Mas Selamat is believed to have begun his involvement with Jemaah Islamiah (JI) in the 1990s upon joining Darul Islam, a precursor movement to the JI group. By 1992, he had joined the Singapore JI cell, and was sent to Afghanistan for training a year later. In 1998, he studied the Taliban system of government and returned home 'deeply impressed'. [11]
According to Singapore intelligence authorities, Mas Selamat has met Hambali, the leader of JI, and discussed various terror plots including hijacking a plane from Bangkok and crashing it into Singapore Changi Airport. [12] [13] He escaped from Singapore in 2001 before authorities conducted a massive operation to arrest 13 suspected JI members in December 2001.
Mas Selamat had earlier been arrested in February 2003 in the island of Bintan, Indonesia, to assist Indonesian police in their investigations of several bombings in Indonesia in 2001 and 2002. Mas Selamat had changed his identity, assuming the name of Edi Heriyanto and obtained an Indonesian passport. Found in his possession was literature on making bombs and the virtue of suicide. He was jailed for 18 months in 2003 for immigration offences. [6] He was, however, not handed over to Singapore upon his release, since Indonesia and Singapore do not yet have an extradition treaty. During this period of imprisonment, he broke his left leg in a botched attempt to escape when he jumped from a high floor, resulting in him walking with a permanent limp. [8] [11]
On 20 January 2006, he was arrested again for using a fake identity card in Java, where he was visiting his son who was said to be studying at a religious school there. Singapore requested Mas Selamat's extradition and was handed over on 3 February 2006, [14] being detained in Singapore under the Internal Security Act without trial. [15] The Malaysian intelligence authorities also wanted to question Mas Selamat who had made frequent visits to Johor before fleeing to Indonesia. [6]
At 4:05 pm on Wednesday, 27 February 2008, the JI leader escaped from the Internal Security Department's Whitley Road Detention Centre where he was being detained. [4] [16] His family were visiting him at the time, and he was being led to a room to meet them when he asked to go to the toilet. He then fled. [17] [18] A massive manhunt comprising personnel from the Singapore Police Force, the Gurkha Contingent, the Singapore Armed Forces, the Police Tactical Unit and the Police National Service Key Installation Protection Unit were deployed in the vicinity of the area immediately after the escape. They were later aided by members of the Singapore Guards and the Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command, before the operation was wound down over 17 hours later without success in locating the fugitive, who was believed to be unarmed. [19]
Authorities said security was very tight at the detention centre and conducted an independent study to determine how the fugitive escaped. [12] Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng acknowledged that a security lapse led to his escape, and that everything was being done to recapture Mas Selamat. [10] [17] The Onraet Road facility has armed guards, high wire fences and CCTV cameras. Reactions to the escape were filled with surprise and disbelief in what Western observers describe as a country where "security breaches are virtually unheard of". [20] [21] It brought serious embarrassment to the Singapore government, [22] [23] and many questions raised by the public and the press. [22] [23] Security around the schools in the area was also beefed up to assure worried parents. [24] [25] Indonesia and Malaysia announced that they stepped up their own border security in the wake of this incident. [26] [27] Government authorities received more than 1100 calls on sightings of Mas Selamat. The earliest sighting of him was in a back road near MacRitchie Reservoir leading to Toa Payoh Lorong 1, right behind Braddell View Estates.
An urgent worldwide security alert, or Orange Notice, was issued by INTERPOL to each of its 186 National Central Bureaus following a request from Singapore. [12] [28] [29] [30] The alert was later changed to red. [31]
Wanted posters of Mas Selamat were put up in shopping centers, buses, train stations, and schools islandwide to appeal for the public to inform police should they spot him, and leaflets given out by volunteers to members of the public. [9] The three telecommunications companies in Singapore sent out Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages starting on 1 March 2008 to all 5.5 million subscribers with Mas Selamat's photograph, as well as email messages to SingNet Internet users. [32] The MMS read, "Please call 999 immediately if you see Mas Selamat bin Kastari. He is short (1.58m tall) and limps on his left leg. Thank you." Lockdowns at border and immigration checkpoints also resulted in much longer queues for people leaving Singapore.
There were conflicting reports on the whereabouts of Mas Selamat. While Singaporean police initially believed that he remained in Singapore, [33] others such as Malaysia's The Star reported that he may have fled to Indonesia via a speedboat ride. [21] [34]
On 21 July 2008, a cash reward of one million dollars was offered for information leading to the apprehension of Mas Selamat. The million dollar reward was put up by two private individuals who had approached the Home Affairs Ministry, wishing to remain anonymous. [35]
Agence France-Presse noted, "Terrorism is usually no laughing matter, especially not in security-conscious Singapore, but the escape from custody of a limping Islamist extremist suspect has led to scorn on the Internet." [22] Online critics also accused the pro-government media of trying to play down the incident and skirting key issues. [36] Speculations and conspiracy theories abounded in Internet chatrooms and blogs, such as that Mas Selamat had died in detention or that he was purposefully let out in order to allow authorities to search for other terrorists. [37]
Criticism has been directed towards Wong Kan Seng, the Minister of Home Affairs in Singapore, with regards to the fact that news of Mas Selamat's escape was not disseminated to the public until four hours after its occurrence. The public were not given any details until the next day at a parliamentary session. Wong then had cited a serious security lapse as the reason for the escape and revealed that Mas Selamat escaped when he was being taken to the toilet before a meeting at the Family Visit Room. [38]
On 2 March 2008, it was announced that an independent Committee of Inquiry, chaired by former judge Goh Joon Seng, would be set up to find out how the escape occurred.
Nine individuals, including the commander and his superior holding a rank equivalent to brigadier general, were penalised for lapses that allowed Mas Selamat Kastari to escape from the Whitley Road detention centre. [39]
On 21 April 2008, the only findings of the Committee of Inquiry were released in a Parliament of Singapore session. It was announced that he escaped through an unsecured bathroom window. The Committee attributed the escape to three critical factors – first, the lack of grilles where the window was located; second, Mas Selamat being allowed to close the toilet door on the guards, thus avoiding detection during his escape and third, a physical weakness at the perimeter fencing outside the visitation centre. [40]
Additionally, the report stated that a re-enactment of the potential escape route would have taken 49 seconds to escape through the window and clear the perimeter fencing, with another 2 minutes and 44 seconds to reach the Pan Island Expressway located next to the detention centre. Mas Selamat had turned on the water tap after closing the toilet door and the guards on duty only acted on their suspicions 11 minutes after this incident. It is believed that Mas Selamat could have been gone for some time at that point. [41]
It was later revealed that Mas Selamat had used an improvised flotation device to cross the Straits of Johor into Malaysia. [42]
On 7 August 2008, a man 'limping like' Mas Selamat was arrested by Indonesian police at Buluh Tumbang Airport in Tanjung Pandan, Belitung. [43] The man claimed to be an educational book salesman and not the fugitive in question. [44] The man was later released. [45]
On 8 May 2009, the media in Singapore reported that Mas Selamat had been captured by Malaysian authorities in Johor, Malaysia. [46] This report was later confirmed by both the Singapore and Malaysian governments, with the date of capture given as 1 April 2009. [47] Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed that Mas Selamat was being held under the Internal Security Act, saying that he was "planning something, which allowed us to arrest him". [48] Hishammuddin declined to give details, since the case is sensitive as it involves intelligence agencies of Singapore, Indonesia as well as Malaysia. [48] Inspector-General of Malaysian Police Musa Hassan said that the arrest was made possible as the involved parties had been sharing intelligence reports since his escape. [49]
According to the media, Mas Selamat was captured in the early morning of 1 April in a secluded house in Kampung Tawakal, an obscure village with a population of less than 100 in Skudai, 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of Johor Bahru. [49] [50] According to witness, Mohd Saat Marjo, 57, a villager who lived opposite the fugitive's home, about 40 personnels from the Royal Malaysian Police—such as the Special Actions Unit (Pasukan Gerakan Khas A-Detachment; UTK) and Special Branch members—broke through two doors and rushed into the house, where Mas Selamat refused to come out and surrender when ordered by the police. Mas Selamat resided in the house's refurbished basement, while his landlord, known only as "Johar", and Johar's wife and two children, resided in the upper portions of the house. [50] Prior to his arrest, Mas Selamat had limited contact with outsiders, even avoiding prayers at the local surau , but had been witnessed tending to the compound's garden. [50] Villagers in Kampung Tawakal expressed shock of Mas Selamat's presence after his identity was made known to the public. [50]
Several people who had helped Mas Selamat to hide in the country, including Johar, were arrested along with him, and the news of the arrest was undisclosed for weeks to enable investigations into his network in Malaysia. [48] [51] Immediately after his arrest, the house Mas Selamat resided in and its surroundings were combed for explosives. [50]
Mas Selamat was transferred back to Singapore for indefinite detention under the Internal Security Act on 24 September 2010. [52]
As of December 2021 [update] , Mas Selamat remains imprisoned behind bars indefinitely under the Internal Security Act while still "deeply entrenched in (his) radical beliefs". Authorities have thus assessed that Mas Selamat still poses an imminent threat to public security, making it unlikely that he will ever be released. [53]
It was further revealed that Mas Selamat's eldest son, Masyhadi bin Mas Selamat (alias Muhammad Hanif), was also part of the Jemaah Islamiyah and has been detained since his arrest in Indonesia in 2013. [54] [53]
Jemaah Islamiyah was a Southeast Asian Islamist militant group based in Indonesia, which was dedicated to the establishment of an Islamic state in Southeast Asia. On 25 October 2002, immediately following the JI-perpetrated 2002 Bali bombings, JI was added to the UN Security Council Resolution 1267.
Riduan Isamuddin, also known by the nom de guerreHambali, is the former military leader of the Indonesian terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). He is now in American custody at Guantanamo Bay detainment camp in Cuba. He is currently awaiting trial in a military commission.
The Singapore embassies attack plot was a plan in 2001 by Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) to bomb the diplomatic missions and attack personnel of the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Israel based in Singapore. There were also several other targets. The plot was uncovered in December 2001 and as many as 15 people were arrested in Singapore within a month. Further investigation and intelligence prompted the detention of another 26 persons from 2002 to 2005. As of 2006, 37 of them were still being detained without trial, under the Internal Security Act. Four had been released on restriction orders.
Yazid Sufaat, also known as Yazud bin Sufaat or Yazid Shufaat, is a Malaysian member of the extremist Islamist terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiyah from shortly after its foundation in 1993 until his arrest by Malaysian authorities in December 2001. His speciality had been to develop anthrax as a weapon of bio-terrorism on behalf of the terror group al-Qaeda. Released in 2008, he was again detained on terrorist charges in Malaysia in 2013.
Wong Kan Seng is a Singaporean former politician who served as 5th Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 2005 and 2011 and currently is the chairman of UOB Bank since 2018.
Counter-terrorism in Singapore is a series of detection and prevention measures to minimize the damage caused by terrorism. These measures involve the participation of all levels of society, including defence, internal security, border and infrastructure security, civil defense, and gives special focus on areas such as medical readiness and psychological preparedness.
A suicide bomber detonated a car bomb outside the lobby of the JW Marriott Jakarta hotel on 5 August 2003, killing 12 people and injuring 150. Those killed included 11 Indonesians and one Dutch national. The hotel was viewed as a Western symbol, and had been used by the United States embassy for various events. The hotel was closed for five weeks and reopened to the public on 8 September 2003.
Noordin Mohammad Top was a Malaysian Muslim extremist. He was also referred to as Noordin, Din Moch Top, Muh Top, Top M or Mat Top. Until his death, he was Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant.
The Internal Security Department or ISD is the domestic intelligence, counter-espionage and security agency of Singapore under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It is tasked to confront and address security threats ranging from subversion or sedition, spying or espionage, foreign influence, domestic or international terrorism, political or religious extremism, and fraud against the state.
The Special Branch or SB is an intelligence agency attached to the Royal Malaysia Police. The SB is empowered to acquire and develop intelligence on internal and external threats to the nation, subversive activities, extremist activities and activities of sabotage and spying. The SB has also been accused of carrying out unlawful enforced disappearances.
Pasukan Gerakan Khas is a special operations command of the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP). The PGK has two distinct sub-units; the Special Actions Unit and the 69 Commando Battalion.
This article is about the extent of terrorism in Malaysia, including historical background, laws concerning terrorism, incidence of terrorism and international terrorism from the Malaysian perspective.
The Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) of Singapore is a statute that grants the executive power to enforce preventive detention, prevent subversion, suppress organized violence against persons and property, and do other things incidental to the internal security of Singapore. The present Act was originally enacted by the Parliament of Malaysia as the Internal Security Act 1960, and extended to Singapore on 16 September 1963 when Singapore was a state of the Federation of Malaysia.
In law enforcement, a manhunt is an extensive and thorough search for a wanted and dangerous fugitive involving the use of police units, technology, and help from the public.
The Royal Malaysia Police, is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation, and its headquarters are located at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur. The police force is led by an Inspector-General of Police (IGP) who, as of 23 June 2023, is Razarudin Husain.
Counter-terrorism in Malaysia is a series of measures implemented in Malaysia to detect and prevent terrorism as well as to minimise damages from such terrorist acts should they occur. These measures involve all levels of security services including military, police, border and infrastructure security, civil defence, medical readiness and psychological preparedness. Malaysia also participates actively in international counter-terrorism efforts. The Internal Security Act 1960 (repealed 2012, replaced with Security Offences Act 2012 was enacted to prevent terrorism in Malaysia.
In June 2010, Swiss national Oliver Fricker was sentenced to five months in prison and three strokes of the cane under the Singapore Vandalism Act and Protected Areas and Protected Places Act.
Zulkifli Abdhir was a Malaysian who was one of the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists. The American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agency offered a US$5 million reward for information leading to his capture. He was the maker of bombs delivered for usage to several terrorist groups. He was often referred to by the nom de guerreMarwan. He was suspected of leading the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), being part of the central command of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and of involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings. He was suspected of hiding in Mindanao under the protection of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
Tan Seet Eng, also known by the English nameDan Tan, is a Singaporean businessman. He has faced charges of match fixing in Italy since 2011 and Hungary since 2013 as part of the Calcio scommesse scandal. Despite Interpol considering him the "boss" of the "world's largest and most aggressive match-fixing syndicate", he was not arrested in Singapore until late 2013 since it lacks an extradition treaty with the European Union.
The Special Actions Unit, commonly known as and abbreviated to UTK is a tactical unit of the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP). The unit is headquartered at the RMP buildings in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur. Together with the 69 Commando, they form the Pasukan Gerakan Khas.