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Mas Selamat, 47, has one distinguishing trait, a limp in his left leg, apparently from a fall during an escape attempt while he was in Indonesian custody in 2004. Yesterday, the Home Affairs Ministry revealed two other details about the man: he is 1.6m tall and weighs 63kg. By last night, the posters, originally in English only, were going out in Chinese, Malay and Tamil as well. While officials remained tight-lipped about the status of the manhunt, those familiar with law enforcement procedures said the poster blitz and ongoing search here indicated the authorities believe he is still in Singapore. Throughout yesterday, teams of police officers and Gurkhas were seen at different parts of the island at different times. Late last night, the action was in Upper Bukit Timah. Gurkhas and officers from the Special Operations Command were combing through the undergrowth at Bukit Batok Nature Park. Mas Selamat escaped from Internal Security Department custody at the Whitley Detention Centre at 4.05pm on Wednesday, sparking the biggest manhunt in Singapore history. Thousands of policemen spent two days locking down the Bukit Timah-Dunearn Road area near the centre, checking homes, schools and vehicles. The police presence was no longer as evident there yesterday, but teams of Gurkhas were spotted scouring even Singapore Armed Forces live-firing areas in Lim Chu Kang. Tip-offs also began coming in: One petrol station attendant alerted the authorities to a limping man making his way to Bukit Brown cemetery off Lornie Road. It proved a false alarm. But the reminder to call 999 drew one hoax call. Police swiftly tracked down and arrested a 58-year-old man who called from a public phone yesterday morning, claiming to be the terrorist and threatening to blow up multiple locations. The terrorist's escape spurred about 100 grassroots leaders, including MPs, to fan out from the Khadijah Mosque in Geylang, to help distribute the posters. Singapore, which earlier alerted neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia, yesterday notified Paris-based International Police (Interpol) as well. Its 186 agencies worldwide have been armed with a photograph of Mas Selamat, fingerprints and other key information. An Interpol spokesman said an 'orange notice' had been sent out, a code identifying the fugitive as a 'potential threat to the safety and security of the public at large around the world''. Terrorism experts expect him to hotfoot it to Indonesia, where he has several friends, including JI operatives, as soon as the coast is clear. This is something the Riau people are worried about, going by the heightened security in Batam, an hour's ferry ride from Singapore. Residents there are aware of his foiled plan to crash a hijacked plane into Changi Airport and his links to Indonesian militants. Former JI leader Nasir Abas told The Straits Times yesterday that Mas Selamat had tried to escape from Riau police custody in Pekan Baru in July, 2004. His ruse: He asked to be left alone to say his prayers and then jumped from a first-floor window. Police, suspecting something amiss when he took too long, saw him limping away. Batam taxi driver Burhan, 35, was among those worried that Mas Selamat may find his way there. 'If he has plans to bomb a Singapore airport, he can also try to bomb places here,' he said. 'His mentality is different from ours, he doesn't think so hard about whether his actions may hurt others.' SEE ALSO: Community leaders help with search Prank caller claims to be escaped terrorist Police search leaves no stone unturned Whitley Road area back to normal Posters and leaflets of fugitive helpful, say S'poreans Unlikely he's left country, say security experts
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| >> RELATED STORY |
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| Search for JI man goes to the grassroots |
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| Search for JI man goes to the grassroots |
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| Life back to normal at Whitley Rd |
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| Malay/Muslim community leaders help in search for Mas Selamat |
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