The Singapore government apologized Thursday for the security lapse that allowed a suspected Islamic terrorist leader to escape from jail, triggering a manhunt across this usually well-policed island nation. Authorities said Mas Selamat Kastari, who once allegedly plotted to hijack a plane and crash it into Singapore's international airport, slipped away Wednesday. He is said to be commander of the Singapore arm of Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian extremist group allied with al-Qaida.Minister of Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng said Mas Selamat escaped after being taken from his cell to go to a room for a scheduled visit by his family at the Whitley Road Detention Center, which is in a wooded residential area in central Singapore. Mas Selamat, 47, was allowed to first go to the restroom and escaped from the heavily guarded facility, Wong said in Parliament, without offering any specifics.
Ahhh yess…the ole “I’m just going to the biffy I’ll be right back.” routine.
"This should never have happened," said Wong, who is also deputy prime minister. "I am sorry that it had. An independent investigation is under way and we should not speculate on what and how it happened."
Too late WongyÂ…weÂ’ve already been speculating it was an inside job.
The Home Affairs Ministry said in a statement that "extensive police resources have been deployed to track" down Mas Selamat, who walks with a limp. Nepalese Gurkhas who guard the jail fanned out across a nearby snake-infested forest, checking vacant bungalows and peering down drains and back alleys of private housing areas.Thousands of police officers and soldiers set up roadblocks to check passing cars. Dozens of riot police and military trucks parked along main roads.