Kastari Escaped From Singapore Detention Centre Without His Trousers!

Singapore says a suspected Islamic militant managed to escape from a detention centre two months ago mainly due to an unlocked window in the toilet - and fled without his trousers.

Wong Kan Seng, Singapore's deputy prime minister, told parliament today that Mas Selamat bin Kastari flipped his trousers above the cubicle door before escaping through a window.

"The guard had assumed that the urinal cubicle was a secure facility and that Mas Selamat could not escape from it. This assumption was wrong,'' he said.

Wong said Kastari had planned his escape "over time'' and that the two guards who escorted him to the toilet had "failed in their duties''.

"In my view, the security weakness of this window is the single most crucial factor which enabled Mas Selamat to escape,'' he said.

Wong said he was not sure how Kastari managed to get over the double perimeter fence at the centre, but said he could have "exploited a weakness'' in a section of the fencing.

Kastari, the suspected leader of the Singapore cell of al-Qaeda-linked militant network Jemaah Islamiah (JI), escaped in February from a detention centre where he was being held for allegedly plotting to crash a plane into Singapore's airport.

His escape sparked a massive manhunt on the tiny city-state that saw Nepali Gurkhas combing forests and a global security alert from Interpol.

JI has been blamed for the 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Wong said that the investigation into Kastari's escape concluded that he received no help from the centre's guards or staff and was not assisted by someone from the outside.

The escape was seen by some experts as highly embarrassing for Singapore, which prides itself on tight security.

Wong said the authorities were considering building a new detention centre inside a prison.

Singapore, a strong US ally and a major base for Western businesses, sees itself as a prime target in the region after it said it foiled JI plots in 2001 to attack its airport and other sites, including the US embassy, the American Club and the Singapore American School.

***** There are several questions which come to mind after reading the explanation given at Singapore's parliament. If Kastari did not get help from anyone within the centre or from someone on the outside as the minister contends, how did the militant walk out into the streets without his trousers and without anybody noticing him? How does a 'trouserless' man hail a cab or melt into a crowd and make good his escape? Also how can the minister be so sure that he did not have any outside help?
Image - Source
Meanwhile in Indonesia: Jakarta Court Sentences Key Militant To 15 Years In Prison