Manhunt for escaped JI leader intensifies | ||||||
| By Teh Joo Lin, Tania Tan and K.C Vijayan | ||||||
SAF soldiers have joined the island-wide land, sea and air hunt. The manhunt for the escaped Jemaah Islamiyah leader has intensified, with more than 100 soldiers joining the thousands of security forces that are tracking down the fugivtive across the island and other air and sea checkpoints. It is almost 24 hours since the wanted man, Mas Selamat Kastari, 47, who was linked to a sensation plant to crash a hijacked plane into Changi Airport, has been on the run. Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng told Parliament earlier on Thursday that the JI militant escaped while he was brought to meet his family who was visiting him at the detention centre. While being led to the room to meet his family, he asked to go to the toilet and gave his escorting officers the slip. The public was informed of his escape only about four hours later because the authorities said he posed no 'imminent danger to the public' at the time.
Early on Thursday morning, the SAF military police and guardsmen were brought in at about 6.30 am to beef up the huge security cordon around the wooded Malcolm Park, near the Singapore Chinese Girls' School and the vicinity. A snaking line of more than 20 military and police vehicles, including a 5-tonner truck, occupied the left most lane of Dunearn Road, causing the morning rush hour traffic to slow to a crawl. Pupils arriving at the Singapore Chinese Girls School on Dunearn Road were ushered in through the school gates by teachers and parents, and immediately up to the second floor assembly hall. There, vice-principal Mrs Shermaine Tang, told them 'not to roam around' and explained to them why they were surrounded by military vehicles and armed security forces on the school compound. 'Your teachers are here for you, and we're going to have a great day at school,' reassured Mrs Tang. But some rattled parents were not convinced and at least 10 of them took their daughters home early. One mother, who would only give her name as Ms Tan, said she felt 'uneasy' and preferred to have her daughter at home. All the schools in the vicinity, including St Joseph Institution, Anglo Chinese School (Barker Road) and Catholic Junior College were also combed by security forces before the students turned up. At the junction of Goldhill Avenue and Dunnearn Road, all vehicles were checked and the drivers asked to open their boots for scrutiny by the police. Military police and Gurkha guards stood at 10 metres apart along the footpaths of Goldhill Avenue, stretching to Mount Rosie Terrace. At about 8.15 am, some 50 Gurkha guards fanned out to check on several vacant bungalows in the area, led by grassroots leader Fred Chong, who has lived in the area for over 20 years. He brought them to about six empty houses, which were left vacant or undergoing renovation. The Gurkhas also checked the drains and backways between the private houses. Shortly after, they started combing the wooded area behind Goldhill Place, which residents said is cobra-infested. In Parlaiment, Mr Wong said that the security at all the air, land and sea checkpoints have been tightened, including the areas where the escaped terrorist "may leave our shores not from the normal immigration clearance areas'. He also warned that anyone who helps Mat Selamat would be committing a serious offence. 'I urge the public to stay calm and report any suspicious sightings to the police immediately,' he said. Mas Selamat, 47, a father of four, took over as head of the JI network here in 1999, and later plotted to crash a hijacked plane into Changi Airport. Read also: JI leader escapes while on the way to toilet for full story, click here http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_211339.html | ||||||
Thursday, February 28, 2008
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