S'porean militant escapes to Indonesia

S'porean militant escapes to Indonesia

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean member of an al-Qaeda-linked militant
group who authorities say planned to hijack a plane and crash it
into Singapore's international airport had fled to Indonesia, a
report said on Sunday.

The suspect, identified as Mas Selamat Kastari, escaped
Singapore in December and then traveled through Malaysia,
southern Thailand and then onto Medan in Indonesia, Singapore's
Sunday Times newspaper reported quoting an unnamed home affairs
ministry spokesman.

The suspect and four other men who escaped from Singapore
belong to Jemaah Islamiyah, a group implicated in an alleged plot
to blow up the U.S. Embassy and other Western targets in
Singapore, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong told Parliament on
Friday.

He said Kastari was believed to have fled to Thailand in
January.

It is not known where the suspects are now, it said. --AP