Mas Selamat's Escape

Physical Lapses

* No window grilles in toilet
* CCTV cameras not yet in commission
* Perimeter fences that met roof of covered walkway

By Zakir Hussain

THERE were no grilles on the toilet window through which Mas Selamat Kastari escaped.
CCTV cameras were not yet in commission, so while they were working, there was no recording or active monitoring.

And the low Whitley Road Detention Centre perimeter fences met the roof of a covered walkway.

These were the key physical lapses that made Mas Selamat's escape possible, said the Committee of Inquiry (COI) that investigated his Feb 27 escape from the detention centre's Family Visitation Block.

During a re-enactment of how the fugitive could have left, a Gurkha guard took only 49 seconds to go out the window, scale a fence, climb onto the roof of the covered walkway, and jump out of the compound.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng gave Parliament an account of the COI's findings yesterday.

The COI learnt that the centre's administration had meant to put in grilles on all the windows in the block as far back as 2004, when it made plans to renovate the centre.

The Internal Security Department (ISD) told the vendor to install the grilles, but when renovations were carried out in 2007, this toilet window remained unsecured 'due to a difference in understanding...over exactly which windows were to be secured', DPM Wong said.

Still, when a staff member walked about to check on renovations between April and May last year, he detected the ventilation window without grilles and alerted the centre's Superintendent to the lapse.

Instead of having the grilles installed, the Superintendent directed that the handle of the window be sawn off as a security measure, assuming that the guards would always keep the detainee in sight.

Mr Wong called this 'bad judgment' on the Superintendent's part, and said the unsecured window was 'the single most crucial factor which enabled Mas Selamat to escape'.
Once the detainee got out the window, the COI believes he took advantage of a weakness in the security fences.

There were two perimeter fences, but they converged with the roof of a covered staircase and walkway at the back of the visitation block.

DPM Wong said that the failure of centre staff to detect this weakness was a 'failing'.
The COI also noted that CCTV coverage of the area was being upgraded to add motion-detectors, as part of a system upgrade for the entire complex.

So while two cameras were mounted at the location where Mas Selamat climbed out the window, they were not commissioned yet.

DPM Wong said this was 'very unfortunate' as fully operational cameras would have given an idea as to how the detainee got out of the centre.

But he assured the House that immediate action was taken to strengthen security following the escape. The toilet window has been sealed, and other actions such as raising the height of the perimeter fence are underway, and should be completed by next month.

Prisons Department assistance will also be sought to ensure the place is secure enough, Mr Wong added.