The (in)famous Prison/Toilet Break:

Singapore Patriot: Mas Selamat's prison break: Some questions for Home Affairs Minister

Just chanced upon this blog - a fellow ACSian... who has got some questions for the MHA and HAM. Since this issue is the rage at the moment... i thought i add some of my thoughts too. don't want to miss the train and talk about it when he's caught and everybody is going "yesterday's news... like Dave Teo" (huh? who's Dave Teo? - he's the NSF caught with a weapon)

Yep, and since I chanced upon Gerald's blog, i've decided to experiment with the 'backlinks' option too - my apologies, still a newbie blogger.

So, the rage is on and everybody is talking about it - how could 'the most wanted man' - a highly dangerous terrorist escape (or leave... limp out if you'd like) from a high-security detention facility? i find it rather disturbing, given that Mas Selamat Kestari has the knack for being an escape artist.

While i know it is an intrusion of privacy, should not a wanted man be escorted into the toilet, or even into the toilet cubicle? When i was serving National Service, we charged and put an NSman into the SAF detention barracks for defaulting on his IPPT. I distinctly remember having one of my men handcuffed to him until we handed him over to the respective authorities.

This was an NSman who defaulted on his IPPT 3 times... Mas Selamat is a 'wanted man' with intentions of terrorism. *scratch head*

The other point I wonder is - how far could he have got in his first 60 minutes of having escaped? The manhunt began about an hour after he escaped, and depending on which view you subscribe to (ie. isolated incident or insider job), it gives our incumbent either (a) very little time and chance of making it out of the forest (b) the opportunity to have left the country if he had some help and transportation. In fact, The Star newspaper claims that Mas Selamat has left Singapore already. What do you think?

The repercussions are severe if this man has gotten away. Reputation, trust are among some of them, but the security of Singapore and the region is further threatened now that he is at large. I do not agree with the views that this is some 'cover-up' because Mas Selamat died from interrogation. It is certainly not wise to throw a country into panic, activate thousands of people for a search party just for the sake of a cover-up. However, I must say that the cover-up conspiracy theory is enticing and makes for a good Hollywood film, or stuff for our local media to draw on.

One more thing... i don't have a copy of the poster and i don't know if i am looking at the picture wrongly. Does not the clean-shaven version of Mas Selamat appear to be a little chubbier on the cheeks? Of course it could just be an edited picture - the hair and many other features look identical... but i thought he looked fairer (lack of solar exposure because he's in dentention) and chubbier (perhaps a better life than being on the run eh?)