Channel NewsAsia - 48 minutes
ago
SINGAPORE: Officers searching for escaped Jemaah Islamiyah
leader, Mas Selamat Kastari, are using a database to make their
hunt more effective.
Mas Selamat escaped from Whitley Road Detention Centre some
three weeks ago. The 47—year—old is alleged to have been the
mastermind of a plot to crash a hijacked plane into Changi
Airport.
The database used in the hunt contains key information such as
the location of vacant buildings in Singapore and possible hideouts
used by illegal immigrants.
These details come under a programme called Operations Terrain
Mapping, which has been updated over the last three years by Home
Team officers who registered their observations and contact
networks on the database to tackle crime and terrorism.
There are also plans to enhance the IT system that centrally
stores and shares such terrain information to allow the Home Team
to share some parts of the database with other ministries and
possibly grassroots organisations in the future.
This was revealed by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs
Minister Wong Kan Seng on Tuesday at a workshop for some 700 Home
Team officers from agencies like the Police Force and the Internal
Security Department.
DPM Wong said: "Our sector officers were able to identify 121
vacant or abandoned buildings within a day and the search
operations conducted against these sites were mounted
expeditiously. This swift response would not have been possible had
we not already marked these buildings in our terrain maps. Another
example was the location of cordons and road blocks.
"As the search operations expanded islandwide in response to
public calls, our officers were able to swiftly set up cordon lines
and road blocks which were pre—identified in the terrain maps. This
enabled us to swiftly lock in the search area while other officers
commenced the searches."
He added that these officers will face more complex tasks in the
future, but efforts to build stronger relationships with various
communities will pay off.
In fact, the deputy prime minister said, such partnerships have
already contributed to the fast mobilisation of the community in
the search for Mas Selamat. Many organisations have stepped forward
to help distribute over 210,000 pamphlets on the fugitive.
With more officers involved in the on—going search for Mas
Selamat, the attendance at this year’s Home Team workshop was lower
compared to last year.
And despite the security breach that led to Mas Selamat’s
escape, Mr Wong told his audience that the Home Team spirit is
still very much alive.
He said: "Indeed, without excusing the lapse which led to Mas
Selamat’s escape, our Home Team officers should not lose heart for
they have done much to be proud of. The work of the Home Team must
go on because life goes on in society, whether it is to combat
crime, drugs or fire hazards or deal with those who break the
law."
On a separate note, seven groups received the Home Team
Achievement Awards at the workshop. — CNA/so