Mas Selamat bin Kastari
Encyclopedia
Mas Selamat bin Kastari (born 23 January 1961), an Indonesia
n-born Singapore
an, 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. He was eventually recaptured in Skudai
, Malaysia, on April 1, 2009, over a year after his escape, and has since been returned to Singapore.
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 2002, and, according to the Singapore Police Force, he had initially planned to do so by crashing a plane into the airport. However, Mas Selamat has never been formally charged with any terrorism-related offences; instead, he was detained under the country's Internal Security Act
, which allows indefinite detention without trial.
, in Indonesia
, Mas Selamat grew up in Kaki Bukit
in Singapore leading a typical childhood kampung life. He attended the Kaki Bukit Primary School, and was known simply as "Selamat" to his neighbors. In the early 1980s, Mas Selamat moved to a flat in Bedok Reservoir
where he married and had five children.
for training a year later. In 1998, he studied the Taliban system of government and returned home 'deeply impressed'.
According to Singapore intelligence authorities, Mas Selamat has met Hambali, the leader of JI, and discussed various terror plots including hijacking a plane from Bangkok
and crashing it into Singapore Changi Airport
. He escaped from Singapore in 2001 before authorities conducted a massive operation to arrest 13 suspected JI members in December 2001.
, Indonesia, to assist Indonesian police in their investigations of several bombings in Indonesia in 2001 and 2002. Mas Selamat had changed his identity, assuming the name of Edi Heriyanto and obtained an Indonesian passport. Found in his possession was literature on making bombs and the virtue of suicide. He was jailed for 18 months in 2003 for immigration offences. He was, however, not handed over to Singapore upon his release, since Indonesia and Singapore do not yet have an extradition treaty. During this period of imprisonment, he broke his left leg in a botched attempt to escape when he jumped from a high floor, resulting in him walking with a permanent limp.
On 20 January 2006, he was arrested again for using a fake identity card in Java, where he was visiting his son who was said to be studying at a religious school there. Singapore requested Mas Selamat's extradition
and he was handed over to Singapore on February 3, 2006, where he was detained in Singapore under the Internal Security Act
without trial. The Malaysian intelligence authorities also wanted to question Mas Selamat who had made frequent visits to Johor
before fleeing to Indonesia.
's Whitley Road Detention Centre where he was being detained. His family were visiting him at the time, and he was being led to a room to meet them when he asked to go to the toilet. He then fled. A massive manhunt comprising personnel from the Singapore Police Force
, the Gurkha Contingent
, the Police Tactical Unit
and the Police National Service Key Installation Protection Unit were deployed in the vicinity of the area immediately after the escape. They were later aided by members of the Singapore Guards
and the Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command, before the operation was wound down over 17 hours later without success in locating the fugitive, who was believed to be unarmed.
Authorities said security was very tight at the detention centre and conducted an independent study to determine how the fugitive escaped. Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng
acknowledged that a security lapse led to his escape, and that everything was being done to recapture Mas Selamat. The Onraet Road facility has armed guards, high wire fences and CCTV cameras. Reactions to the escape were filled with surprise and disbelief in what Western observers describe as a country where "security breaches are virtually unheard of". It brought serious embarrassment to the Singapore government, and many questions raised by the public and the press. Security around the schools in the area was also beefed up to assure worried parents. Indonesia and Malaysia announced that they stepped up their own border security in the wake of this incident. Government authorities received more than 1100 calls on sightings of Mas Selamat. The earliest sighting of him was in a back road near MacRitchie Reservoir leading to Toa Payoh Lorong 1 right behind Braddell View Estates.
An urgent worldwide security alert, or Orange Notice, was issued by INTERPOL
to each of its 186 National Central Bureaus following a request from Singapore
. The alert was later changed to red.
Wanted poster
s of Mas Selamat were put up in shopping centers, buses, train stations and even schools islandwide to appeal for the public to inform police should they spot him, and leaflets given out by volunteers to members of the public. The three telecommunications companies in Singapore sent out Multimedia Messaging Service
(MMS) messages starting on 1 March 2008 to all 5.5 million subscribers with Mas Selamat's photograph, as well as email messages to SingNet Internet users. The MMS read
"Please call 999 immediately if you see Mas Selamat bin Kastari. He is short (1.58m tall) and limps on his left leg. Thank you." Lockdowns at border and immigration checkpoints also resulted in much longer queues for people leaving Singapore.
There were conflicting reports on the whereabouts of Mas Selamat. While Singaporean police initially believed that he remained in Singapore, others such as Malaysia's The Star
reported that he may have fled to Indonesia via a speedboat ride.
On 21 July 2008, a cash reward of one million dollars was offered for information leading to the apprehension of Mas Selamat. The million dollar reward was put up by two private individuals who had approached the Home Affairs Ministry, wishing to remain anonymous.
noted how "Terrorism is usually no laughing matter, especially not in security-conscious Singapore, but the escape from custody of a limping Islamist extremist suspect has led to scorn on the Internet." Online critics also accused the pro-government media of trying to play down the incident and skirting key issues. Speculations abound in the internet chatrooms and blogs, sometimes bordering on the incredulous. Some of them attributed the escape to black magic or insider collaboration. Claims of conspiracy theories, such as that Mas Selamat had died in detention or that he was let out to allow authorities to sniff out other terrorists, were also put up by the online community.
Criticism has been directed towards Wong Kan Seng
, the Minister of Home Affairs in Singapore, with regards to the fact that news of Mas Selamat's escape was not disseminated to the public until four hours after its occurrence. The public were not given any details until the next day at a parliamentary session. Wong then had cited a serious security lapse as the reason for the escape and revealed that Mas Selamat escaped when he was being taken to the toilet before a meeting at the Family Visit Room.
On 2 March 2008, it was announced that an independent Committee of Inquiry, chaired by former judge Goh Joon Seng, would be set up to find out how the escape occurred.
session. It was announced that he escaped through an unsecured bathroom window. The Committee attributed the escape to three critical factors – first, the lack of grilles where the window was located; second, Mas Selamat being allowed to close the toilet door on the guards, thus avoiding detection during his escape and third, a physical weakness at the perimeter fencing outside the visitation centre.
Additionally, the report stated that a re-enactment of the potential escape route would have taken 49 seconds to escape through the window and clear the perimeter fencing, with another 2 minutes and 44 seconds to reach the Pan Island Expressway
located next to the detention centre. Mas Selamat had turned on the water tap after closing the toilet door and the guards on duty only acted on their suspicions 11 minutes after this incident. It is believed that Mas Selamat could have been gone for some time at that point.
It was later revealed that Mas Selamat had used an improvised flotation device to cross the Straits of Johor
into Malaysia.
in Tanjung Pandan
, Belitung
. The man claimed to be an educational book salesman and not the fugitive in question. The man was later released.
, Malaysia. This report was later confirmed by both the Singapore and Malaysian governments, with the date of capture given as 1 April 2009. Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein
confirmed that Mas Selamat is being held under the Internal Security Act
, saying that he was "planning something, which allowed us to arrest him". Hishammuddin declined to give details, since the case is sensitive as it involves intelligence agencies of Singapore, Indonesia as well as Malaysia. Inspector-General of Malaysian Police Musa Hassan
said that the arrest was made possible as the involved parties had been sharing intelligence reports since his escape.
According to the media, Mas Selamat was captured in the early morning of April 1 in a secluded house in Kampung Tawakal, an obscure village with the population of less than 100 in Skudai
, 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) northwest of Johor Bahru
. While according to a witness, Mohd Saat Marjo, 57, a villager who lived opposite the fugitive’s home, about 40 comprising personnels from Royal Malaysian Police
, such as Special Actions Unit (Pasukan Gerakan Khas
A-Detachment; UTK) and Special Branch
members broke through two doors and rushed into the house when he refused to come out and surrender when ordered by the police. Mas Selamat resided in the house's refurbished basement, while his landlord, known only as "Johar", and Johar's wife and two children, resided in the upper portions of the house. Prior to his arrest, Mas Selamat had limited contact with outsiders, even avoiding prayers at the local surau
, but had been witnessed tending to the compound's garden. Villagers in Kampung Tawakal expressed shock of Mas Selamat's presence after his identity was made known to the public.
Several people who had helped Mas Selamat to hide in the country, including Johar, were arrested along with him, and the news of the arrest was undisclosed for weeks to enable investigations into his network in Malaysia. Immediately after his arrest, the house Mas Selamat resided in and its surroundings were combed for explosives.
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n-born Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
an, was for more than a year Singapore's most-wanted fugitive
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
after escaping from detention on 27 February 2008. The search for him has been described as the largest manhunt ever launched in Singapore. He was eventually recaptured in Skudai
Skudai
Skudai is a rapidly expanding suburb of Johor Bahru, the largest city in and the capital of the state of Johor in southern Malaysia. Skudai is part of the new growth corridor of southwest Johor, which includes the Senai International Airport, Tanjung Pelepas Port and the proposed new...
, Malaysia, on April 1, 2009, over a year after his escape, and has since been returned to Singapore.
In January 2006, Mas Selamat was arrested by Indonesian anti-terror squads in Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
and deported to Singapore. He was suspected of plotting to bomb Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport , Changi International Airport, or simply Changi Airport, is the main airport in Singapore. A major aviation hub in Southeast Asia, it is about north-east from the commercial centre in Changi, on a site....
in 2002, and, according to the Singapore Police Force, he had initially planned to do so by crashing a plane into the airport. However, Mas Selamat has never been formally charged with any terrorism-related offences; instead, he was detained under the country's Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Singapore)
The Internal Security Act of Singapore is a law that allows the Singapore government to investigate security threats like international terrorism, foreign subversion, espionage and acts of violence or hatred using race or religion...
, which allows indefinite detention without trial.
Early life
Born in 1961 in Kendal, Central JavaKendal Regency
Kendal is a regency in the northern part of Central Java province in Indonesia, west of Semarang. Its capital is Kendal....
, in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Mas Selamat grew up in Kaki Bukit
Bartley Road
Bartley Road is a major road in Singapore extending from Upper Serangoon Road to Tampines Avenue 10. The road has a distance of 5.8 km. En route, it passes through the areas of Serangoon, Bartley, Paya Lebar, Defu, Kaki Bukit and Bedok Reservoir...
in Singapore leading a typical childhood kampung life. He attended the Kaki Bukit Primary School, and was known simply as "Selamat" to his neighbors. In the early 1980s, Mas Selamat moved to a flat in Bedok Reservoir
Bedok Reservoir
Bedok Reservoir is a reservoir located in the eastern part of Singapore, to the north of Bedok New Town. The reservoir has a surface area of 880,000 m², and a capacity of 12.8 million m³. The mean depth of the reservoir is 9 m, with a maximum depth of 18.2 m...
where he married and had five children.
Involvement with JI
Mas Selamat was believed to begin his involvement in the 1990s when he joined Darul Islam, a precursor movement to the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) group. By 1992, he had joined the Singapore JI cell and was sent to AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
for training a year later. In 1998, he studied the Taliban system of government and returned home 'deeply impressed'.
According to Singapore intelligence authorities, Mas Selamat has met Hambali, the leader of JI, and discussed various terror plots including hijacking a plane from Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
and crashing it into Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore Changi Airport , Changi International Airport, or simply Changi Airport, is the main airport in Singapore. A major aviation hub in Southeast Asia, it is about north-east from the commercial centre in Changi, on a site....
. He escaped from Singapore in 2001 before authorities conducted a massive operation to arrest 13 suspected JI members in December 2001.
Arrests
Mas Selamat had earlier been arrested in February 2003 in the island of BintanBintan
Bintan Island or Negeri Segantang Lada is an island in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia. It is part of the Riau Islands province, the capital of which, Tanjung Pinang, lies in the island's south and is the island's main community....
, Indonesia, to assist Indonesian police in their investigations of several bombings in Indonesia in 2001 and 2002. Mas Selamat had changed his identity, assuming the name of Edi Heriyanto and obtained an Indonesian passport. Found in his possession was literature on making bombs and the virtue of suicide. He was jailed for 18 months in 2003 for immigration offences. He was, however, not handed over to Singapore upon his release, since Indonesia and Singapore do not yet have an extradition treaty. During this period of imprisonment, he broke his left leg in a botched attempt to escape when he jumped from a high floor, resulting in him walking with a permanent limp.
On 20 January 2006, he was arrested again for using a fake identity card in Java, where he was visiting his son who was said to be studying at a religious school there. Singapore requested Mas Selamat's extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
and he was handed over to Singapore on February 3, 2006, where he was detained in Singapore under the Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Singapore)
The Internal Security Act of Singapore is a law that allows the Singapore government to investigate security threats like international terrorism, foreign subversion, espionage and acts of violence or hatred using race or religion...
without trial. The Malaysian intelligence authorities also wanted to question Mas Selamat who had made frequent visits to Johor
Johor
Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
before fleeing to Indonesia.
Escape in February 2008
At 4:05 pm on Wednesday, February 27, 2008, the JI leader escaped from the Internal Security DepartmentInternal Security Department
The Internal Security Department is a domestic intelligence agency of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore. It was formerly part of the Ministry of Interior and Defence until it was split on 11 August 1970...
's Whitley Road Detention Centre where he was being detained. His family were visiting him at the time, and he was being led to a room to meet them when he asked to go to the toilet. He then fled. A massive manhunt comprising personnel from the Singapore Police Force
Singapore Police Force
The Singapore Police Force is the main agency tasked with maintaining law and order in the city-state. Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police , it has grown from an 11-man organisation to a 38,587 strong force...
, the Gurkha Contingent
Gurkha Contingent
The Gurkha Contingent is a line department of the Singapore Police Force. Members of the GC are trained to be highly-skilled and are selected for their display of strong discipline and dedication in their tasks...
, the Police Tactical Unit
Police Tactical Unit (Singapore)
The Police Tactical Unit is a paramilitary specialist unit of the Singapore Police Force and comes under the direct command of the Special Operations Command. Based in Queenstown, it is the main anti-rioting and disaster-management unit of the police force. They are also called upon to handle...
and the Police National Service Key Installation Protection Unit were deployed in the vicinity of the area immediately after the escape. They were later aided by members of the Singapore Guards
Singapore Guards
In the Singapore Armed Forces, the Guards are an elite infantry formation specializing in rapid deployment. Guards are known as elite heliborne troopers. They are well trained in heliborne operations and specialist combat skills that give them an added combat edge...
and the Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command, before the operation was wound down over 17 hours later without success in locating the fugitive, who was believed to be unarmed.
Authorities said security was very tight at the detention centre and conducted an independent study to determine how the fugitive escaped. Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng
Wong Kan Seng
Wong Kan Seng is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he served as the country's Deputy Prime Minister from 2005 to 2011...
acknowledged that a security lapse led to his escape, and that everything was being done to recapture Mas Selamat. The Onraet Road facility has armed guards, high wire fences and CCTV cameras. Reactions to the escape were filled with surprise and disbelief in what Western observers describe as a country where "security breaches are virtually unheard of". It brought serious embarrassment to the Singapore government, and many questions raised by the public and the press. Security around the schools in the area was also beefed up to assure worried parents. Indonesia and Malaysia announced that they stepped up their own border security in the wake of this incident. Government authorities received more than 1100 calls on sightings of Mas Selamat. The earliest sighting of him was in a back road near MacRitchie Reservoir leading to Toa Payoh Lorong 1 right behind Braddell View Estates.
An urgent worldwide security alert, or Orange Notice, was issued by INTERPOL
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
to each of its 186 National Central Bureaus following a request from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. The alert was later changed to red.
Wanted poster
Wanted poster
A wanted poster is a poster distributed to let the public know of an alleged criminal whom authorities wish to apprehend. They will generally include either a picture of the alleged criminal when a photograph is available, or of a facial composite image produced by a police artist...
s of Mas Selamat were put up in shopping centers, buses, train stations and even schools islandwide to appeal for the public to inform police should they spot him, and leaflets given out by volunteers to members of the public. The three telecommunications companies in Singapore sent out Multimedia Messaging Service
Multimedia Messaging Service
Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length.The most popular use is to send photographs from...
(MMS) messages starting on 1 March 2008 to all 5.5 million subscribers with Mas Selamat's photograph, as well as email messages to SingNet Internet users. The MMS read
"Please call 999 immediately if you see Mas Selamat bin Kastari. He is short (1.58m tall) and limps on his left leg. Thank you." Lockdowns at border and immigration checkpoints also resulted in much longer queues for people leaving Singapore.
There were conflicting reports on the whereabouts of Mas Selamat. While Singaporean police initially believed that he remained in Singapore, others such as Malaysia's The Star
The Star (Malaysia)
The Star is an English-language, tabloid-format newspaper in Malaysia. It is the largest in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the . It has a daily circulation of between 290,000 to 300,000...
reported that he may have fled to Indonesia via a speedboat ride.
On 21 July 2008, a cash reward of one million dollars was offered for information leading to the apprehension of Mas Selamat. The million dollar reward was put up by two private individuals who had approached the Home Affairs Ministry, wishing to remain anonymous.
Public reaction
Response from certain sectors of the public has been sharply critical, particularly on the internet. Agence France-PresseAgence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
noted how "Terrorism is usually no laughing matter, especially not in security-conscious Singapore, but the escape from custody of a limping Islamist extremist suspect has led to scorn on the Internet." Online critics also accused the pro-government media of trying to play down the incident and skirting key issues. Speculations abound in the internet chatrooms and blogs, sometimes bordering on the incredulous. Some of them attributed the escape to black magic or insider collaboration. Claims of conspiracy theories, such as that Mas Selamat had died in detention or that he was let out to allow authorities to sniff out other terrorists, were also put up by the online community.
Criticism has been directed towards Wong Kan Seng
Wong Kan Seng
Wong Kan Seng is a politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he served as the country's Deputy Prime Minister from 2005 to 2011...
, the Minister of Home Affairs in Singapore, with regards to the fact that news of Mas Selamat's escape was not disseminated to the public until four hours after its occurrence. The public were not given any details until the next day at a parliamentary session. Wong then had cited a serious security lapse as the reason for the escape and revealed that Mas Selamat escaped when he was being taken to the toilet before a meeting at the Family Visit Room.
On 2 March 2008, it was announced that an independent Committee of Inquiry, chaired by former judge Goh Joon Seng, would be set up to find out how the escape occurred.
Findings of investigation
On 21 April 2008, the only findings of the Committee of Inquiry were released in a Parliament of SingaporeParliament of Singapore
The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament who are appointed...
session. It was announced that he escaped through an unsecured bathroom window. The Committee attributed the escape to three critical factors – first, the lack of grilles where the window was located; second, Mas Selamat being allowed to close the toilet door on the guards, thus avoiding detection during his escape and third, a physical weakness at the perimeter fencing outside the visitation centre.
Additionally, the report stated that a re-enactment of the potential escape route would have taken 49 seconds to escape through the window and clear the perimeter fencing, with another 2 minutes and 44 seconds to reach the Pan Island Expressway
Pan Island Expressway
The Pan Island Expressway is the oldest and longest of Singapore's expressways. Currently, it is also Singapore's longest road. It extends along the length of the island, connecting Tuas in the west to Singapore Changi Airport in the east. Its length is .-Construction:Construction of the PIE...
located next to the detention centre. Mas Selamat had turned on the water tap after closing the toilet door and the guards on duty only acted on their suspicions 11 minutes after this incident. It is believed that Mas Selamat could have been gone for some time at that point.
It was later revealed that Mas Selamat had used an improvised flotation device to cross the Straits of Johor
Straits of Johor
The Straits of Johor is a strait that separates the Malaysian state of Johor to the north from Singapore to the south....
into Malaysia.
Possible capture
On 7 August 2008, a man 'limping like' Mas Selamat was arrested by Indonesian police at Buluh Tumbang AirportBuluh Tumbang Airport
Buluh Tumbang Airport or H.A.S. Hanandjoeddin Airport is an airport in Tanjung Pandan, Bangka-Belitung, Indonesia.-Airlines and destinations:...
in Tanjung Pandan
Tanjung Pandan
Tanjung Pandan is the largest town on the island Belitung in the Indonesian province of Bangka-Belitung, Indonesia. Tanjung Pandan is the capital of the Belitung Regency.-Demographics:The majority of the people in Tanjung Pandan are Hakka Chinese and Malay...
, Belitung
Belitung
Belitung, , is an island on the east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia in the Java Sea. The island is known for its pepper and for its tin. It was in the possession of the British from 1812 until the British ceded control of the island to the Dutch in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824...
. The man claimed to be an educational book salesman and not the fugitive in question. The man was later released.
Capture
On 8 May 2009, the media in Singapore reported that Mas Selamat had been captured by Malaysian authorities in JohorJohor
Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
, Malaysia. This report was later confirmed by both the Singapore and Malaysian governments, with the date of capture given as 1 April 2009. Malaysian Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein
Hishammuddin Hussein
Datuk Seri Panglima Hishammuddin bin Tun Hussein is a Malaysian politician and member of the United Malays National Organisation . He is the current Malaysian Minister of Home Affairs. He is the former Minister of Education, having served from 2004 to 2009. He has been mentioned as a likely...
confirmed that Mas Selamat is being held under the Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Malaysia)
The Internal Security Act 1960 is a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances...
, saying that he was "planning something, which allowed us to arrest him". Hishammuddin declined to give details, since the case is sensitive as it involves intelligence agencies of Singapore, Indonesia as well as Malaysia. Inspector-General of Malaysian Police Musa Hassan
Musa Hassan
Tan Sri Musa Hassan is former Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police. He has served with the Royal Malaysian Police for 41 years.- Inspector-General of Police :...
said that the arrest was made possible as the involved parties had been sharing intelligence reports since his escape.
According to the media, Mas Selamat was captured in the early morning of April 1 in a secluded house in Kampung Tawakal, an obscure village with the population of less than 100 in Skudai
Skudai
Skudai is a rapidly expanding suburb of Johor Bahru, the largest city in and the capital of the state of Johor in southern Malaysia. Skudai is part of the new growth corridor of southwest Johor, which includes the Senai International Airport, Tanjung Pelepas Port and the proposed new...
, 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) northwest of Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...
. While according to a witness, Mohd Saat Marjo, 57, a villager who lived opposite the fugitive’s home, about 40 comprising personnels from Royal Malaysian Police
Royal Malaysian Police
The Royal Malaysia Police is a part of the security forces structure in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organization with responsibilities ranging from traffic control to intelligence gathering. Its headquarters is located at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur. The police force is led by an...
, such as Special Actions Unit (Pasukan Gerakan Khas
Pasukan Gerakan Khas
The Pasukan Gerakan Khas is an elite high-profile counter-terrorism and special operations tactical unit of the Royal Malaysia Police...
A-Detachment; UTK) and Special Branch
Malaysian Special Branch
The Special Branch or SB is an intelligence agency attached to the Royal Malaysian Police. The SB is empowered to acquire and develop intelligence on internal and external threats to the nation, subversive activities, extremist activities and activities of sabotage and spying...
members broke through two doors and rushed into the house when he refused to come out and surrender when ordered by the police. Mas Selamat resided in the house's refurbished basement, while his landlord, known only as "Johar", and Johar's wife and two children, resided in the upper portions of the house. Prior to his arrest, Mas Selamat had limited contact with outsiders, even avoiding prayers at the local surau
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
, but had been witnessed tending to the compound's garden. Villagers in Kampung Tawakal expressed shock of Mas Selamat's presence after his identity was made known to the public.
Several people who had helped Mas Selamat to hide in the country, including Johar, were arrested along with him, and the news of the arrest was undisclosed for weeks to enable investigations into his network in Malaysia. Immediately after his arrest, the house Mas Selamat resided in and its surroundings were combed for explosives.