Alleged terror leader to be tried for fake passport

Alleged terror leader to be tried for fake passport

An alleged Singaporean terror leader arrested in Indonesia will be tried for using a fake passport, Riau police said Thursday.

Mas Selamat bin Kastari, a Singaporean, is wanted by his home country over an alleged plot to hijack a plane and crash it into the island state's Changi airport.

"Based on the preliminary result of our interrogation, he admitted to have used fake documents such as an identification card in order to get an Indonesian passport," Riau police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Pandiangan said.

"Therefore his legal process will be based on immigration matters and we are currently preparing his dossiers to be used in court."

Singapore says Selamat led the Singapore cell of the regional terror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI). It has sent police to interview him.

Pandiangan said a special national police team from Jakarta is investigating whether Selamat is linked to international terrorism.

Indonesian police on Feb. 2 arrested Selamat in Bintan island. Jakarta has given contradictory signals on whether he will be sent back to Singapore in the absence of an extradition treaty.

A foreign ministry spokesman has said there are no plans to return him because he faces legal action in Indonesia. Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra has said Indonesia could hand over Selamat but Singapore must return the favor in future.

"He is a citizen. He is a Singaporean. And definitely, he will be brought back to Singapore," the city-state's Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said last week.

Selamat is said to have fled Singapore last year following a crackdown on the JI. At least 31 JI members are being detained in Singapore for alleged plots to blow up US and other foreign targets and water pipelines.

JI is accused of staging the Bali blasts last October which killed more than 190 people. -- AFP