Channel NewsAsia - 36 minutes
ago
SINGAPORE: The final report by the Committee of Inquiry, set up
to investigate the escape of Jemaah Islamiyah leader, Mas Selamat
Kastari, will serve as critical knowledge for other countries as
well.
Mas Selamat escaped last Wednesday from the Whitley Road
Detention Centre.
He has been held under the Internal Security Act since 2006, as
he had allegedly plotted to crash a hijacked plane into Changi
Airport.
Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng announced the formation of
the independent committee on 2 March.
The committee will likely submit a report in a month or so.
Retired Judge, Goh Joon Seng heads the 3—member panel.
Also on the panel — former Commissioner of Police, Tee Tua Ba
and Deputy Secretary of Security at the Home Affairs Ministry,
Choong May Ling.
Experts said this is an authoritative panel and the members are
logical choices.
They noted that the retired judge would be able to address legal
issues, while the ex—police chief will have knowledge about law
enforcement.
Experts said the committee will likely study areas like how he
managed to escape from the detention facility, the initial moments
when he disappeared and the centre’s security infrastructure.
The panel will also likely make recommendations on how to
prevent such an incident from happening again.
Experts also added that other countries would read this final
report closely to compare it with their present security
practices.
Using that report, other regional authorities can tighten their
own detention procedures.
Associate Professor Kumar Ramakrishna, member of the Head Centre
for Excellence for National Security at the S Rajaratnam School of
International Studies, said: "The importance of providing such an
authoritative analysis and investigation would be certainly to
provide what would amount to the definitive view and official view
on the subject of this detainee’s escape.
“It also would help to quash a lot of public speculation and
answer a lot of questions which may be in people’s minds.“
He added: “I think the commission’s work will be very important
and useful to not just within the government but to analysts
outside, as well as to our counterparts in the region as well.”
In another development, authorities in Johor are assisting
Singapore to track down Mas Selamat.
Johor’s Police Chief, Mokhtar Shariff said his department has
distributed photos and details of the wanted man, to its personnel
manning all the entry points in Malaysia.
He added that the Malaysian law enforcement officers have also
"been instructed to arrest the fugitive on sight."
The Police Chief said that “Singapore had made an official
request for assistance from Johor."
INTERPOL, the world’s largest police organisation, has already
elevated a security notice on Mas Selamat to Red Notice, with an
arrest warrant. —CNA/vm
