Media Release: Questions that Wong Kan Seng must answer, Singapore Democrats, 29 Feb 2008
The shocking revelation by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng about the escape of ISA detainee Mr Mas Selamat Kastari does not pass the smell test. At the minimum, it raises troubling questions that require urgent answers:
One, were there breaches of physical security? The detainee could not have walked through walls. The Minister has not told the public whether Mr Kastari had dug a burrow, punched hole through the wall or cut the wire fencing surrounding the detention centre. If there were no such breaches, then did Mr Kastari push his way past the security personnel guarding the doorways and gates?
The time Mr Kastari took to go to the toilet is at most several minutes. How does one effect an escape in that short span of time? This apparently occurred at about 4 pm and just before his family visit which means that the officers on duty had to be on heightened alert. The situation becomes even more incredible when we are told that the detainee walks with a “distinct limp”.
Mr Wong Kang Seng expects us to believe that a detainee who could not walk properly got past able-bodied officers from the confines of a toilet, in broad daylight and without an escape route?
Two, where are the footages of security cameras? There are cameras mounted in all prison facilities precisely to prevent such situations. The Whitley Detention Centre is no exception. If the Elections Department has a CCTV camera and can produce video footages, surely Mr Wong can now produce footage of the moments that led to the detainee’s escape.
Cameras would have recorded Mr Kastari’s movements as well as movements of the police officers guarding him. They would also show Mr Kastari walking, running, jumping, or limping through the compounds of the Centre if he had escaped. The Government must show the people such footage.
Three, what are the officers’ accounts? So far we have only heard from the Minister. This is not sufficient. The ISD officers involved in the matter must now give their accounts in a public, independent inquiry whose panel should include the SDP.
In addition, officers handling Mr Kastari must give an account of the detainee’s condition in the months and weeks leading up to his escape. This is important to establish the detainee’s physical condition at the point of his breakout.
If the Government cannot satisfactorily answer the above questions and produce the video footage of Mr Kastari’s movements just prior to his escape, then the question of whether an escape had in fact taken place necessarily arises. The logical follow-up to this question then is: Is Mr Kastari still alive?
The media and Parliament have been derelict in their duties in not raising the above questions and grill Mr Wong on the matter. The kids’ gloves that journalists and MPs have been using to deal with this disturbing issue is revealing as it is instructive.
At the very least, the debacle calls into question the competence of the Home Affairs Minister and his cursory statement given in Parliament is woefully inadequate, negligent even. The SDP demands that the Minister comes out in the open immediately and answers our questions.
All this mystery surrounding this incredible gaffe must, however, not distract us from the fact that Mr Kastari has not been convicted of a crime with the Government having proven its case in a court of law. Singaporeans must remember that he ISA remains a tool of the PAP to serve its own political ends.
If we decry the ISA in detaining Singaporeans like Mr Chia Thye Poh, Ms Teo Soh Lung, and Mr Francis Seow and depriving these citizens of their right to defend themselves in an open and fair trial, then we must also extend that right to Mr Kastari and all other detainees currently incarcerated at the Whitley detention centre. Let the charges be made against these suspects, let the prisoners defend themselves, and let the evidence, if any, convict these persons.
Chee Soon Juan
Secretary-General
Singapore Democratic Party
I agree with you Chee Soon Juan to a certain extent,but I also trust the incumbent Singapore government on all accounts that they are doing their utmost to adress this issue.But all independent inquiries should come forth to light of this matter to potentially highlight all pitfalls,exigencies and significantly bolster the crackdown.I also believe that not only the critical dimensions of ministerial speeches to overshadow the entire issue as to the ostensible incredulousness and the viability of mas selamat’s “unknown” whereabouts and how the preceding events before his escape could even unfold so dramatically,casting thereby a doubtful shadow of mysticism on the tight security that Singapore is known for.But Singaporeans all unite in their hunt for this unrepentant and unrelenting fugitive would emerge victorious on all fronts.
Very true. But are you writing in the capacity that you are an opposition party, and hence, in some ways (directly/indirectly) gathering as much support as you can in showing displease to the current Government?
In my opinion, since such things have happened, it would prove to be useless and nonsensical for singaporeans to argue over the outbreak of the matter. It just prove to be a joke to foreign countries. Perhaps, who knows, they are laughing at our mishap.
I guess it’s more appropriate for us to acknowledge what had happened, come to terms with it bearing also these questions of the heck the Government is doing, in finding the terrorist out. We should unite ourselves at least, this period in searching him. Disunity breeds forth a weakness that can be manipulated by our enemies.
I guess all your concerns and the public could then be voiced out when this matter is over. And if the Government could not answer to the public’s questions then, it’s another story.
someone must be hiding something.
I agree…!!! smell fishy..
The press was gagged. Puppet Parliament gagged.No details disclosed by ISD or PM’s office about the actual escape.
This is typical PAP style of deceit.
No brainer.
Mas is either dead in custody or sent on a secret mission.
Well I’m with cheated. You folks really believe that Kastari could have sneaked past those Gurka boys armed with semi-automatic weapons? Those unscalable high walls and electrified fences and concertina wires- could Kastari make the leap of faith?
I think not. He is already dead, dumped over in some Mandai forest, waiting for some bugger to discover the body or some filthy rich Arab with links to al-Qaeda, paid millions to facilitate his escape- if he is truly a JI terrorist, that is.
Hi, Mr Chee,
pardon me, i’m just a student and i didn’t know you can write so well. (except for some personal comment against the PAP, you may slightly pass/fail if the above is a textual critic). Despite knowing you are an opposition party, i didn’t know that you can reason that well although not all pHd holders can.
just wondering, if you are so “zai” why do you still end up being sued, behind bars and so on? anyway, certainly the government does need to answer some questions. but the government may not as it may not be necessary so long as the conclusion is all is safe and sound.
The typical singaporean way of thinking in the vast majority, critical thinking are shallowed, and mostly people just want to have good conclusion and disregard the process.
By reading your view on this situation, certainly SG still lack transparency. However it is only one sided still. I’ve yet to apply critical thinking to know which is the most accurate to the truth.
I do respect you and your courage, by puting your name on the line.
regards
DarkPa1adin
could kastari been hiding in houses instead of forest!Why not police checks block and housing area.
could he have fled s’pore…
the max period for s’pore to catch a detainees is 2-3 days but this already 1 week.
Could there is someone helping him fleet.
Well i agree to Malayan Hacker, i got the feeling he is dead, and maybe after several week his body and new would be in the front page “Mas Selamat Found Dead” to close the case…. Very simple ..
Well i agree , I got the feeling he is dead, and maybe after several week his body and new would be in the front page “Mas Selamat Found Dead” to close the case…. Very simple ..
First of all i would like to say that the way Mr Wong Kang Seng “apologized” in parliment sounded like a joke..there was no sincerity in it at all. He was merely reading out whatever that was written on the piece of paper.
Two. Why wait fours hours before informing the public of Mas Selamats’ “escape” ? The description given of Mas Selamat was very vague. All we were told was ” he walks with a limp , he is not believed to be armed and theres a picture of him”. What you telling me he walked out of the place naked ?? Details of his apparent “escape” were also not given , he apparently went to the toilet and “disappeared”. Did he flush himself out ?
Three. The Police are able to track down burglers within hours but not a limping escaped prisoner even with help from the army and gurkas. WTF ?
Four. I believe that Mas Selamat has been tortured to death and that this is all some kind of coverup. Whats there to coverup..”big brother” has been doing it for years its no biggie. Just tell us that he died during his routine electrocution torture..we’ll understand lol.
Five. Do we still have to believe every word they say ? Wake up guys..this could be what the money they are giving ur this april is for..”here you go $250 (after cpf contribution $125)..now forget about Mas Selamat”.
This is all in my opinion..just to relieve stress.Hope i don’t get sued or anything.
durty_politiks,
i don’t think you will be sued as i supposed words that infer to defamation cannot be used in court as different people can infer differently.
Certainly MHA Wong’s apology doesn’t have any remorseful or regret. Thinking about it, if i’m in the cabinet and i happened to “allow” a top terrorist to escape the detention center, will i be sacked immediately? Well it depends, usually if it isn’t really a big deal, i won’t be sacked.
The question about not releasing the plan view of the detention centre and how he “escaped” could be due to the protection of “top secret” information in the detention centre. Fantasy-ly speaking, could the centre have a lot of super high tec stuff? lol who knows. Anyway, its only merely speculation. If it is a “top secret”, and MHA Wong knows about the situation at the detention centre, the possibility of him not getting sacked/punished is high, because of fear of leaking out to the mass which could cause confusion/chaos which most likely what Cabinet Singapore doesn’t want.
The above comment could also be true on how a filthy rich Arab come and plan an escape route for him out of Singapore. Just that it is a little more towards the unobvious.
Lastly, i’d believe that SG is not ready for 100% democracy due to the indifferent nature of individuals living in a diversified society.
Certainly i too, hoped that i won’t get sued for commenting on this. I’m just a student. “If i perish, i perish” Esther 4:16
work to solve the case before it get worce pls accept my advice to all singaporean’s to face the present take a challenge in life not to protect the leader who is not one of us
have confident show them who you are .
THANK YOU
POLICE
i got e feeling Mr Mas Kastari Selamat is dead, throw his body somewhere, hoping some singaporean discover and report it to the authority..
simply “Mas Kastari Selamat is DEAD” media cover up etc. as mention above.
Yes! and i strongly agree that “they” must reveal e footage. abt wat happen inside.
all we need is “something” to belief in. not “something” that blind us as time goes by.
think HUMANITY (HUMAN RIGHTS!), not money money money!
I think it’s suspicious that mas selamat could easily break out of the Whitely detention centre,you all thought he was a Jumper?as in the movie or what i think Mr wong should give us an explanation why Mas selamat could escape so easily and isit the Whitley Detention Centre cant afford some Cameras in the toilet?We the poor citizens pay so many tax to the goverment and they could not afford those Cameras?I think there is many loopholes in the case and hope the Goverment can give us an explanation and i guesse Mas selamat is not in singapore anymore cause it is so small so easily get captured he is not dumb,so i think u guys can just live the way you are like normal days and not worrying about him but still must be alert abit lah Lols
This is just a opinion of mine hope i dont get Sued or anything i am just a kid haha
If it’s all a joke – if Mas Selamat been shot dead/tortured to death/today’s special and his body is simply waiting to be found, the international reputation of our city-state itself is certainly no small price to pay especially with regards to safety. I don’t know how our government planning works, but unless they’re planning to sink an extra couple billion into an “anti-terror fund” in a few weeks’ time I really don’t see how this pays out for them.
What I’m saying is that yes, he may have been tortured to death and it’s some big coverup, but surely a gamble on such a scale that it risks the question of the big guys’ competence itself (their pride and joy and why we little ones shouldn’t let new people have a try at organizing a big, good government that already works) is way too much? The sheer number of posters the police put up around SG so that the alarm to their own carelessness is raised… and he turns out to have been taken out by one of their own guys but they’d rather let us and the rest of the world think that he managed to escape and then conveniently get discovered at a later date by their own men/random lucky citizen?
After all, I’d presume that this isn’t the kind of stuff that They want us to think of them. The kind of glaring loopholes begging to be tugged on and questioned by intellectuals like yourself… much less an opposition fellow like yourself.
I can’t make head or tail of this Mas Selamat case, but I fully agree that the footage and the proceedings (or at least results) of the relevant questioning process should be made public. I’ve got to look at these ugly mugshots staring emptily at me every time I board the train or press the button to take the lift home… I’m far from being in charge around here, but I do wish that a little more assurance or at least information would be afforded to the public.
Thanks for assuring us that so long as he’s still in Singapore we’re safe, but that’s what we thought before when he was inside that detention centre not too long ago. Between the golden words of assurance spoken from a certain man’s lips and the simple and certain knowledge about what happened to Mas Selamat, I don’t know about you guys but the latter is good enough for me.
First, if MSK is really dead and it’s all a cover up then let’s act according to the show lor. Like questioning like a smart idoit, bash the garment or be a boot-licker….. just keep up the acting S’porean.
Secondly, if MSK esacaped and run away…then wait for his ‘return’ lor. i mean wat can we do ? Braced yourself for some kind of vengence….
Thirdly, if no matter how unacceptable the way it’s reveal to the pubic, live goes on. Sooner we will 4get lah. That’s the way we are brought up in this environment.
Fourthly, KS DID NOT APOLOGISE, he just xpress his sympathy to this event. Just like someone said ‘sori’ to u when your love ones died attending a wake. So wat if KS xpress only sympathy and reading from the script ? Is it a crime for not apolosing ?
Now I really sympathised for all authorised uniform group personnel who work tirelessly on the ground level patrolling and searching for someone who possbly may not be around. Wasting money, wasting time and exerting your health status to the limit by working over-night. Take MC lah and sleep at home better.
Public are kept in the dark of this ‘escape’ episode and everyone feels insecure…even the ‘ama’/’agong’ nid to accompany their grand children to school.
Since we cannot change the situation, why dun we join them saying ….” let’s stay united and move on “.
Are u boot-lickers happy now ?
Yes you are all right, many thing hiden, this is abnormal. Citizen deserve the entire picture of the problem and how it is expected to be solved by the “champions in charge at the government”
What is also abnormal are the comments from some people: e.g. “I hope that i won’t get sued for commenting on this”
Is S’pore really a democraty?
Are the journalist free to write without being edited?