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MŽsia Žlet Mas Selamat freeŽ
[Straits Times] MALAYSIA knew that a Singaporean terror suspect fled to the country months ago, but allowed him to remain free so he might lead the authorities to other militants, an official said on Monday.Mas Selamat Kastari was captured in Johor on April 1, more than a year after he escaped from Singapore. Officials were aware he had fled to Malaysia from 'the moment he came to our country', Malaysian Home Ministry Secretary-General Mahmood Adam said in an interview with The Associated Press. Police monitored his movements instead of arresting him immediately, because 'the most important (thing) sometimes is not the particular target' but his network, Mr Mahmood said. Mas Selamat alone is not as valuable as who is behind him, he added. Police arrested two other suspects in Johor at around the same time as they nabbed Mas Selamat. The Jemaah Islamiah leader lived in a village of about 100 people, rarely going out or mixing with other residents, before his capture. Mr Mahmood declined to say whether the authorities were on the verge of making further arrests. It was not clear from the interview when the Malaysians came to know of Mas Selamat's presence, and Mr Mahmood did not say when exactly he entered the country. A Singapore Home Affairs Ministry spokesman said on Monday that a joint operation between the Malaysian Special Branch (MSB) and Singapore's Internal Security Department pursued for several months a lead that Mas Selamat could be in Malaysia. 'But it was not until April 1, 2009, when MSB raided a suspect hideout arising from investigations into the lead, that it was confirmed that it was indeed Mas Selamat Kastari who was hiding there. We have just rechecked this sequence of events with our Malaysian counterparts.' Posted by: Fred 2009-06-03 |
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