Mas Selamat Kastari

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Kastari is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Mas Selamat.
Mas Selamat Kastari
Picture taken from Interpol website
Born (1961-01-23) 23 January 1961 (age 63)
Kendal, Central Java, Indonesia
Occupation(s)Former bus mechanic, alleged head of the Singapore branch of Jemaah Islamiyah
Criminal statusArrested and held by Internal Security Department, under the Internal Security Act
Children6
Criminal chargeNone[1]

Mas Selamat Kastari (born 23 January 1961), a Muslim Indonesian-born Singaporean, was for more than a year Singapore's most-wanted fugitive after escaping from detention on 27 February 2008. The search for him has been described as the largest manhunt ever launched in Singapore.[2] He was eventually recaptured in Skudai, Malaysia, on 1 April 2009, over a year after his escape, and has since been returned to Singapore.[3][4] His escape was found to be one of the events in Singapore's history that Singaporeans were most aware of, with 95% being aware of it.[5]

In January 2006, Mas Selamat was arrested by Indonesian anti-terror squads in Java and deported to Singapore. He was suspected of plotting to bomb Singapore Changi Airport in January 2002,[6] and, according to the Singapore Police Force, he had initially planned to do so by crashing a plane into the airport.[4] However, Mas Selamat has never been formally charged with any terrorism-related offences;[1] instead, he was detained under the country's Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial.[7]

  1. ^ a b Agence France-Presse (8 March 2008). "Singapore should brace for attack if JI suspect flees island: Lee". Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  2. ^ Mas Selamat can hold out indefinitely: experts, ST, 4 March 2008
  3. ^ Lopez, Leslie (8 May 2009). "Mas Selamat captured". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  4. ^ a b "JI detainee Mas Selamat Kastari escapes from Singapore detention centre". Channel NewsAsia. 27 February 2008. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008.
  5. ^ Yong, Charissa (26 January 2015). "Survey on Singapore's history sheds light on which events citizens remember most". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  6. ^ Charles, Lourdes (6 February 2006). "Singapore JI suspect nabbed in Java". The Star (Malaysia). Archived from the original on 23 October 2008.
  7. ^ "Security forces comb forests and seas for Singapore's escaped terror suspect". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 1 March 2008. Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2008.