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SINGAPORE'S most wanted man, Mas Selamat Kastari, was still in the Republic last night as the massive manhunt for him went into its fifth day.
Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng told the media yesterday: "The assessment of our security agencies is that Mas Selamat is still in Singapore."
The Singapore leader of the terrorist organisation, Jemaah Islamiah, escaped last Wednesday afternoon from the Whitley Detention Centre where he was detained under the Internal Security Act.
Mr Wong, who was visiting the Special Operations Command at Queensway, said: "There?s no evidence so far to suggest that he has left Singapore. Therefore, our current efforts and top priority is to look for him."
He vowed that no stone would be left unturned and no effort would be spared in tracking down Mas Selamat.
"We will continue to search till we find him," he said.
DPM Wong emphasised that even if Mas Selamat had left the country, other means will be found to get him, just as security agencies here had done before he was repatriated to Singapore.
The reason why security agencies were so confident that he had not fled Singapore was that he apparently acted alone in his breakout from the detention centre.
Explained Police Assistant Commissioner Wong Hong Kuan yesterday: "When he escaped, we believe he was unaided, and therefore he does not have access to money, vehicles, modes of transport.
"That underpins our belief that he is still in the country. That's why we're conducting a very intensive search."
Yesterday, DPM Wong also announced the establishment of a three-member Commission of Inquiry to investigate the escape.
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