Government will plug any weakness in Singapore's border security
By Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 May 2009 1813 hrs

	Photos  of
	Special Report • Mas Selamat Arrest

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Law and Second Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam has said security along the country's borders is tight.

He stressed that if there is any weakness in Singapore's border security, the government will work towards plugging it. Mr Shanmugam was speaking on the sidelines of a fund-raising event organised by New Hope Community Society.

He was responding to questions on whether border security measures would be enhanced, after it emerged that terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari had swum across the Straits of Johor from Singapore's northern coast using an improvised flotation device.

Mr Shanmugam said: "In certain stretches between Singapore and Malaysia, it's a few hundred metres across. And every day people try to get in. It's a constant challenge for officers. Wherever it can be plugged, of course we will do so, but it's a pretty tight system."

He also commended the close cooperation between the police forces of Singapore and Malaysia in the re-arrest of Mas Selamat.

He said Singapore's Home Team officers were very stretched with their duties when Mas Selamat escaped in February last year.

They had to put in extra effort beyond their call of duty to track him down. But the arrest of the Jemaah Islamiyah leader showed the determination of the Internal Security Department (ISD).

- CNA/ir