SINGAPORE: Officers searching for escaped Jemaah Islamiyah leader, Mas Selamat Kastari, are using a database to make their hunt more effective.

Mas Selamat escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre some three weeks ago. The 47-year-old is alleged to have been the mastermind of a plot to crash a hijacked plane into Changi Airport.

The database used in the hunt contains key information such as the location of vacant buildings in Singapore and possible hideouts used by illegal immigrants.

These details come under a programme called Operations Terrain Mapping, which has been updated over the last three years by Home Team officers who registered their observations and contact networks on the database to tackle crime and terrorism.

There are also plans to enhance the IT system that centrally stores and shares such terrain information to allow the Home Team to share some parts of the database with other ministries and possibly grassroots organisations in the future.

This was revealed by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng on Tuesday at a workshop for some 700 Home Team officers from agencies like the Police Force and the Internal Security Department.

Mr Wong said: "Our sector officers were able to identify 121 vacant or abandoned buildings within a day and the search operations conducted against these sites were mounted expeditiously. This swift response would not have been possible had we not already marked these buildings in our terrain maps.

"Another example was the location of cordons and road blocks. As the search operations expanded islandwide in response to public calls, our officers were able to swiftly set up cordon lines and road blocks which were pre-identified in the terrain maps. This enabled us to swiftly lock in the search area while other officers commenced the searches."

He added that these officers will face more complex tasks in the future, but efforts to build stronger relationships with various communities will pay off.

In fact, the deputy prime minister said such partnerships have already contributed to the fast mobilisation of the community in the search for Mas Selamat. Many organisations have stepped forward to help distribute over 210,000 pamphlets on the fugitive.

With more officers involved in the on-going search for Mas Selamat, the attendance at this year's Home Team workshop was lower compared to last year.

Despite the security breach that led to Mas Selamat's escape, Mr Wong told his audience that the Home Team spirit is still very much alive.

He said: "Indeed, without excusing the lapse which led to Mas Selamat's escape, our Home Team officers should not lose heart for they have done much to be proud of. The work of the Home Team must go on because life goes on in society, whether it is to combat crime, drugs or fire hazards or deal with those who break the law."

The Home Affairs Ministry also said on Tuesday that it has checked with its Indonesian counterparts and found no information to validate a report in the Jakarta Post that said Mas Selamat was already in East Java.

On a separate note, seven groups received the Home Team Achievement Awards at the workshop.


- CNA/so