Speaking to The Star in an interview published on Saturday, Ayob Khan, who is Special Branch counter-terrorism division principal assistant director, said that he led his team in nabbing Mas Selamat Kestari on April 1, 2009, just over a year after the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) member had made a dramatic escape from a prison in Singapore.
“It still remains one of the most high profile arrests for the division, which has been around for almost 30 years but started out only as a small sub-section within the Special Branch in 1990.
“In the beginning, the focus of the small sub-section of the department was more towards foreign terrorists threats who operated in Malaysia.
“I become the unit’s leader when I was transferred to Special Branch in 1993. However, the unit continued to expand especially after the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York on Sept 11, 2001,” Ayob told the daily on the occasion of the 210th Police Day celebration.
Relating the facts of the circumstances behind Mas Selamat’s escape from a Singapore prison on Feb 27, 2008, Ayob said it was well planned by the JI bomb maker who had been detained under the island republic’s Internal Security Act (ISA).
“He had started to stock up extra small packages of butter to be used as food and obtained extra clothing from his wife.
“On Feb 27, 2008, he escaped through the camp’s toilet ventilation window and scrambled through the perimeter fence,” Ayob was quoted as saying, relating how during questioning by Malaysian police, Mas Selamat revealed how he had started preparing for his escape a month ahead by exercising and trying to solicit information on roads outside the prison from his wife during family visits.
He also told Malaysian police how he hid under an overhead bridge along the Pan Island Expressway for five days before making his way towards Woodlands using a monsoon drain under cover of darkness.
Mas Selamat had reportedly, then swam across the Tebrau Straits and finally arrived in Stulang Laut in Johor Baru on the night of March 2, 2008.
“He kept himself afloat with the aid of empty mineral water bottles. After day break, he walked about 10km towards Pelangi Plaza before boarding a bus to the house of Matin in Ulu Tiram.
“He later moved to another house at Kampung Tawakal, Skudai, belonging to Johar.
“Mas Selamat stayed there for about a year before we finally caught up with him,” Ayob said, referring to Matin Anon and Johar Hassan, who were both JI members.
The counter-terrorism chief explained how it was after the Malaysian police detained Matin, Johar and another JI member, Nurrohman, in early 2009, that Mas Selamat’s hideout was found.
“We detained three former JI members – Matin Anon Rahmat, Johar Hassan and Nurrohman – and their interrogation led us to the Kampung Tawakal house. Mas Selamat stayed there for about a year before we finally caught up with him,” Ayob was quoted as saying by The Star.
According Ayob, the trio of Mas Selamat, Matin and Johar had even hatched several terror plots in that time, including kidnapping Singaporean Chinese in Johor as hostages in return for the release of all JI detainees in Singapore.
“If their request was not met, all the hostages were to be ‘slaughtered’ and video-taped for distribution to the international community,” Ayob said of the terror plot.