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SINGAPORE: It came as a pleasant surprise for many Singaporeans as they awoke on Friday morning to the news that the country's most wanted fugitive, Mas Selamat Kastari, has been captured.
With Influenza A (H1N1) dominating recent headlines, almost all 20 Singaporeans TODAY spoke to said they didn't see Mas Selamat's capture on the radar.
Mr Lim Cheng Heng, who read the news while having his breakfast, probably expressed the sentiments of many when he said: "I thought he had disappeared."
Another Singaporean, Mr Raymond Quek, had believed that the conspiracy theories he had heard were true, until he read the news of the fugitive's capture.
"I thought he had died and we would not hear from him again," said the retiree. "But it is good that he has been caught."
Mas Selamat's capture not only made local headlines, but also found its way to foreign news outlets in Australia and India.
It is believed that he was nabbed in the outskirts of Johor Baru and is now being held by the Malaysian authorities for interrogation.
While Singaporeans were glad to hear of Mas Selamat's capture, many had questions as to how he ended up in Malaysia. For some, the news that he was arrested in Johor came too close for comfort.
"Why was he in Malaysia? Was he planning something that we may not know of?" wondered auditor Sophia Loh.
Mr Tan Hee Joek added: "Was he communicating with someone here? I thought he would have escaped further, say Indonesia."
It is not known why Mas Selamat was in Malaysia. It is also not known why even though he was arrested six weeks ago, the Malaysian authorities have yet to announce the capture.
Financial planner Vincent Tan added: "I thought the authorities said they had no news of his whereabouts. It is definitely a surprise and I hope the authorities could share with us the details of his escape."
Ms Cheng Li Min also wondered how Mas Selamat escaped Singapore given that authorities had shut down the country's borders hours after his escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre.
"I do hope the authorities could share with us what happened," she said.
It is not known how he slipped out of Singapore or when he entered Malaysia.
Mr Chia Wei Ping felt the authorities did well in tracking down the fugitive so quickly.
"Some fugitive go on the run for years and can't be found. They did well in making sure he is caught before he causes any damage," said the technical officer.
Teacher Eugene Ng felt that the news of Mas Selamat's capture could not have come at a better time.
"With Singapore downgrading from Orange to Yellow Alert for the flu virus, I think this comes as great news."
- TODAY/so
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