Monday, May 26, 2008 15:59
Breaking News: Superintendent of detention centre sacked over Mas Selamat’s escape (Video)
In Main Stories • 461 views • 35 Comments
Read DPM Wong’s full speech and videos below.
Report from Channel NewsAsia:
SINGAPORE: The superintendent of the Whitley Road Detention Centre has been sacked over security lapses that led to the escape of Jemaah Islamiyah detainee Mas Selamat Kastari. His deputy has also been demoted in rank, with a corresponding pay cut.
The two were the most senior officers in charge of the ground management of the detention centre, and were among six Internal Security Department (ISD) officers charged over the escape.
Two other Gurkha officers were also charged and have been demoted after pleading guilty.
Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng disclosed the moves when he updated Parliament on the disciplinary action taken after Mas Selamat’s escape.
Mas Selamat had escaped from a ventilation window in a toilet at the detention centre on February 27 and remains at large.
No grilles were mounted on the window. Mr Wong said the superintendent should have instructed the renovation contractor to install grilles on the ventilation window.
Instead, the superintendent asked for the handle of the window to be sawn off in the mistaken belief that it was a sufficient security measure. This, Mr Wong said, was a serious error.
The superintendent and his deputy have also been held accountable for the lack of supervision over the subordinate officers implicated in the escape.
Mr Wong said the ISD’s command director, whom the superintendent reported to, has also been relieved of his duties on April 24.
Although the command director was neither directly nor indirectly linked to the lapses of specific officers down the line, and he was not at fault over the lapses, Mr Wong said he was formally the apex of the supervisory and management chain of command overseeing the detention centre. – CNA/ac
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Full speech by DPM and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng in Parliament:
Mr Speaker Sir, Dr Lam Pin Min asked for an update on the disciplinary measures taken against the officers responsible for Mas Selamat bin Kastari’s escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre (WRDC).
As I informed Members on 21 Apr 2008, I had ordered the Commissioner of Police and the Director of the Internal Security Department (ISD) to investigate the operational lapses related to the escape and to ascertain individual accountabilities. I also stated that even while this process took its course, I had instructed Director ISD to replace several officers at WRDC, whom the Committee of Inquiry (COI) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had identified as being responsible for the escape of Mas Selamat.
In addition, subsequent to my statement on 21 Apr 2008, I also replaced the supervising officer in ISD, whom the Superintendent and the WRDC Administration reported to. I will explain his role later and why I replaced him.
Disciplinary Action Against Those Responsible
Mr Speaker sir, there is an established framework for the disciplinary action inquiry process. This includes allowing the officer to defend himself against the charges and giving the officer the right to appeal if he is found guilty by a disciplinary body.
The Commissioner of Police and Director ISD have reported to me that they have completed their respective disciplinary inquiry processes against a total of eight officers.
The Police has charged the two Gurkha Contingent (GC) guards who escorted Mas Selamat. They have pleaded guilty and have been demoted in rank.
ISD has charged six officers. The six officers have acknowledged their culpability and accepted the sanctions meted out. Let me now elaborate on them.
The Superintendent of WRDC has been dismissed from service. The Deputy Superintendent of WRDC has been demoted in rank with a corresponding pay cut. They are the two most senior officers in charge of the ground management of WRDC. They hold Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) equivalent ranks of Lieutenant-Colonel and Major respectively. The daily administration and operations of WRDC comes under the direct charge of the Superintendent, the most senior officer on the ground. The Deputy Superintendent is the next most senior officer assisting the Superintendent to manage the work of WRDC staff and ensure their compliance with established procedures. These two officers have been held accountable for the lack of supervision over their subordinates implicated, which resulted in lapses that enabled Mas Selamat to escape.
The Superintendent has also been charged and held accountable for failing to take appropriate action on discovering that the ventilation window in the Family Visitation Block toilet was unsecured. He should have instructed the renovation contractor to install grilles on the ventilation window. It was a serious error on his part instead to order that the handle of the window be sawn off, in the mistaken belief that this was a sufficient security measure.
The Special Duty Operative who handled the family visit when Mas Selamat escaped has been dismissed from service. She failed to take immediate and decisive action when alerted by the guards, which could have prevented the escape of Mas Selamat. She also did not observe proper procedures, for example in the accurate registration of clothes that were personal to the detainee and WRDC-issued clothes. That was why Mas Selamat was able to wear more than one layer of clothes on the day of his escape.
The Special Duty Operative’s supervisor failed to obtain a proper security assessment of the detainees’ use of the Family Visitation Block toilet. He was issued a letter of reprimand and relieved of all supervisory duties. This supervisor is a senior officer holding the equivalent rank of Inspector of Police or Lieutenant in the SAF. The letter of reprimand will be entered into his service record and will have a negative bearing on his future career, such as his performance appraisal, promotion and awards.
Two other WRDC officers have been served with departmental letters of warning. These will be lodged as adverse entries in their service files and will also have a bearing on their future careers. One of them is the Technical Officer who was responsible for the CCTV upgrading at WRDC. Although the new CCTV system had not yet been commissioned at the time of the incident, he should have exercised due care to ensure that the vendor had correctly carried out the instructions so that the system was recording.
The Chief Warder is the eighth officer who has been disciplined. She was served a letter of warning. It was the Chief Warder who approached the Superintendent to allow detainees to use the Family Visitation Block toilet. Although this officer was not directly involved in the incident, as an experienced officer, she should have considered the security implications of allowing detainees to use the Family Visitation Block toilet.
Beyond Formal Disciplinary Action
Sir, I had earlier said in this House on 21 April that in ascertaining accountability, we would examine the roles not just of the junior officers but also the supervisory and management levels of WRDC. Therefore, apart from looking at those who were directly or indirectly responsible for the escape, Director ISD and Commissioner of Police have looked at all relevant officers who may be liable further up the chain of command, regardless of their rank or grade.
The WRDC Superintendent and the WRDC Administration staff report to a Command Director in ISD. This Command Director is the supervising officer, or ISD Officer-in-Charge (OIC), whom I said earlier was replaced along with the officers identified in the COI report and CID investigations as being responsible for the escape of Mas Selamat. The ISD OIC is a statutory appointment specified in the Detention Centre regulations. The Superintendent of WRDC reports to him on the smooth running of WRDC.
The current ISD OIC for WRDC holds a Superscale rank equivalent to a Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police or a Brigadier General in the SAF. He is a Command Director who reports directly to Director ISD. He oversees a directorate of several distinct functional divisional units. WRDC is one of these functional units.
The COI found that the ISD OIC had properly discharged his duties and was not at fault. The COI’s view is that it is necessary for the ISD OIC to delegate his statutory responsibility given his full-time job as a Command Director. The COI observed that the ISD OIC had in fact made several improvements to the WRDC. He instituted proper systems and procedures and also recruited a full-time Superintendent with the requisite experience and qualifications to take charge of the administration of WRDC.
I accepted the COI’s assessment that the ISD OIC is not at fault. Nevertheless, I decided to relieve this Command Director of the ISD OIC appointment. This was done on 24 Apr 2008. Even though he was not responsible for the lapses of specific officers down the line, he bears responsibility on account of his statutory appointment as Officer-in-Charge of WRDC.
Although this Command Director has not been subjected to disciplinary action, the incident and his removal from the OIC appointment will have a bearing on his performance appraisal.
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Videos of DPM’s speech in Parliament:
Part One:
Part Two
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Related posts:
35 Comments
Andrew Loh
Jk
Not surprising is it. Blame everyone else (Singaporeans too complacent) when things go wrong but take all the credit when things are good. Indeed Wong Kan Seng is a shameless and dishonourable man.
Daniel
” The superintendent of the Whitley Road Detention Centre has been sacked over security lapses that led to the escape of Jemaah Islamiyah detainee Mas Selamat Kastari. His deputy has also been demoted in rank, with a corresponding pay cut.”
How come his deputy get demoted ? How about Clown PM’s deputy ? Why is he still parliament shameless announcing this news ? Isn’t WKS deputy prime minister ? Why is he not to demoted ?
Harrison
UTTERLY DISGUSTING AND SHAMEFUL VERDICT FROM NONE OTHER THAN THE GUILTY PERSON.
RH:
1. All those ‘punished’ are NOT the senior spies and torturers and information gatherers and evaluators BECAUSE THEY CANNOT BE ANTAGONISED OTHERWISE THEY WILL SPILL ALL THEY KNOW TO THE MEDIA, FOREIGNERS AND MAYBE EVEN BLOG, once they are migrated safe from harm from their very own org.
2. This is, however, quite limited due to their families also being targetted for retaliation, as are mine. So, they may bristle with resentment but know they are being watched, just like they watched us. Ha3. Quite divine retribution.
3. This is why the topmost Director of the ISD himself is very, very, safe from any punishment. He knows too much. My son is constantly under death threats from LIE KY LHL as communicated to me at every opportunity. But the most LIE KY LHL can do is more viral attacks to make him very sick, once he comes back on holiday from LSE next month, like the last time. There is however, divine retribution. There are also NO SECRETS in the 21st Century.
Singaporean
Actually I am quite skeptical that the superintendent move to saw off the handle instead of asking for a replacement is based on a mistaken belief. When I was a private in the SAF doing Ops room duty at night. A man called up the Ops room and identified himself to be Lieutenant X, wanting to know the telephone number of the Manpower Officer. I declined to reveal the information as I am not able to verify his identity through the phone and told him so, all the while addressing him as “SIR”. He shouted at me and I have to repeatedly verbalise my rank, I.C. number and name. The next day, he tekan me left and right and made me run up and down until I cannot tahan anymore. I told him: “Sir, if you continue this I will have no choice but to report to the C.O., SIR!” Only then did he stop his torture.
When I was a 19 year old private, I can see the dangers of compromising security of my manpower officer’s telephone number so I do not see how a Lieutenant-Colonel is unable to see the dangers of a security lapse if grilles are not installed.
In fact, even a private will ask his contractor to install the grilles of his home since that was the original plan to have grilles at the windows and not accept the contractor to saw off the handle of his window as a compromise. The fact that a Superintendent level can accept that compromise raise my suspicion that he may have compromised his rational thinking because of some other factors other than a mistaken belief. Could he have been on very good terms with the contractor? I think the relevant authorities should investigate further. Just an honest opinion.
fools
what to do it happened again. let moved on and moved out of this country.
I am utterly disgusted.
WKS has no shame. His role in this script of tragicomedy is getting too absurd for me to bear.
Gary Teoh
Wong should not have received performance bonus,his pay must be cut and freezed until mas selamat is found. If selamat is not found within a year, he should be sacked, otherwise he will lose Bishan toa Payoh seat next elextion
spursian
What a JOKE! WKS has the cheek to mention though the supertindent has no direct control over his subordinates, he is overall responsible since he’s the apex??? What about WKS being the overall APEX for all these supertindents (subordinates)??
No shame no shame….
Ugly
DIRTY. Enuff said.
While filling my stomach during dinnertime, I could not help but ponder upon the issue of Mas Selamat again. It disturbs me how arrogant our ministers are in handling the issue, right from the very beginning. It disturbs me how shameless WKS is, taking his performance bonus on the account of most of our hard labour, and yet when it comes to accountability, he chooses to push it to others below him. As a leader, and such a highly paid one too, shouldn’t he take upon himself humbly to shoulder the load of accountability and responsibility too? I mean… the SM could blame this on our complacency when we were not even around Whitley Dentention Centre to keep an eye on Mas Selamat, but no part of the responsibility goes to WKS? How very ridiculous. What a joke indeed, spursian, a dirty one too.
My goodness, how corrupted can it get? I am now wondering how much the superintendent and the rest got for being made the scapegoats. This is ridiculous, hilarious and incredible.
blackfeline
and the best part..he managed to kep a staright face! Definitely Oscar worthy…for best actor award!
x12831
WKS has failed as a leader. And that’s a reflection of the ‘quality’ of the ministers down to the PAP MPs.
x12831
It is a sad day for us all – we are made a laughing stock the world over. Duped by million dollar ministers and president.
Sacking was to be expected. But how did it take so long? In the mean time Mas Selamat must be laughing himself silly.
kingfisher
What about the higher management levels who were supposed to conduct audits ( monthly/yearly), Ministry officials who were supposed to carry out oversights? Who decided on things like sawing off the handle was good enough? Who were supposed to do what-if risk assessments? None of the people at the Ministry are culpable? What is the role of the Minister in charge of the Home Affairs? We are talking about Singapore No. 1 Threat and Terrorist arent we? Or was that all hype to detain him without trial? How far is this type of hype? Also for past detainees?
BlackTeeShirt
So, who writes and read Wong Kan Seng’s appraisal?
Pissed Off
WKS just set the benchmark for all Singaporeans. So we should follow our esteemed million-dollar price-tag minister-leaders. Any problem or fault it is the problem of those up the to apex just below me. Credit, I am the apex, and I will claim full credit – full stop. Ha Ha, WKS (and his cabinet gang) makes a fool out of all Singaporeans.
Will the Mas Selamat escape have a bearing on the Minister’s appraisal as well? :D
The head of WKS should not be called for if there is a lapse in security in a detention centre. The apex should be stopped at the detention centre itself and not go all the way up the ladder.
If failure rate in a school is very high, then should the Education Minister be held responsible? If there is a chain collision on a highway, should the Transport Minister be held responsible? Very often, we forget what was done well in the past. We should not let this security lapse overshadow the many past merits. Remember how Yishun MRT bomb attempt was foiled?
shamful
this is shameless.
Apex? what a joke.
wash hands more like it.
Gary Teoh
This is a serious matter concerning a dangerous terrorist, not concerning education, or transport. Remember how much budget they allocate to defence, only to give a lame excuse, that it pose no immediate danger. Wong should be sacked !!!
Daniel
“If failure rate in a school is very high, then should the Education Minister be held responsible? If there is a chain collision on a highway, should the Transport Minister be held responsible? Very often, we forget what was done well in the past. We should not let this security lapse overshadow the many past merits. Remember how Yishun MRT bomb attempt was foiled?”
Such a analogy !
Come on, how many ISA are there in Singapore ? Don’t terrific me into thinking that there is many ISA as there are many schools in Singapore.
This commenter should understand the backslash occurs because the arrogancy and the disconnection between those in Ivory tower and the ground. The need to say that they need exorbitant salary to match their ‘glorified’ job but without the responsbility and accountability going with it..
Perhaps more thinking and observation be used:
“If there is a chain collision on a highway, should the Transport Minister be held responsible?”
Now such collision did occur, and suicide occur that disrupt MRT operation, but did I recall that blogosphere call for transport minister to resign ?
Quote reality and paste event rather than just simple example.
On the whole, Singaporean is not unreasonable and know the root of problem.
So ask why this happen differently for WKS ? Obvious, this WKS sprout rubbish and nonsense and insulting the intelligence of Singaporean. And he himself is deputy prime minister ? A relative of MEE SIAM MAI HUM clown ? Bunch of clowns of same feather clown around obviously.
Weijia
and let’s not forget the dismal way the search was conducted! the media and the government seem to be actively diverting attention away from that area. shouldn’t wong kan seng bear responsibility for the mess that was the search?
integra
I thought they said no point asking for heads to roll. Should move on and do wat is require to look for MS?? Now he is slapping his own face, firing his own ministry. Wat a joke.
CoffeeTalk
I’m not quite sure if the post action was sufficient to account for the incident. Perhaps as some have suggested, the post action should go abit higher up? But I guess at least there is some form of accountability of action from the incident.
Singapore is ultimately a very young nation to begin with. Somewhere in time I guess some sort of sort matters will happen. I was disappointed when the incident actually happen. But even more so that Mas Selamat is still at large after almost three months. I’m starting to accept the fact that he might never be caught again here.
While we move to answer issues of bread and butter and rising cost of living, I hope that the Government will learn to handle such incidents (If any) with more accountability. As the saying goes, “Be a Man, Do the right thing”.
Tankuku
If a good job is done by raising the economy, the MPs will ask for a hefty pay rise and bonus but the junior officers only get 4% increase. For such a big issue, the top do not need to account for but the officers rank get chop off. How to teach our future generations the true meaning of accountability. How do we compare to the western countries where there is a big boo-boo, the CEO will take the rap and leave the organisation.
This is called double standard policy! I am very disappointed.
WT
hongjun: when credit is given, it goes all the way up the ladder. your bosses success is due to your successes. but when there’s a failure of the system, should it be all yours to bear only?
Kaomangai
“he bears responsibility on account of his statutory appointment as Officer-in-Charge” – WKS
I think WKS said it himself. Even though he may not offer his resignation, he should at least shoulder some responsibility on account of his statutory appointment as the Home Minister.
Actually, if WKS were to just play along and offer his resignation with LHL promptly rejecting and come out and said it is OK, then all this flak would have gone away and WKS may end up looking quite good.
This I suppose in PAP terms is – Managing Expectation.
Daniel
“Actually, if WKS were to just play along and offer his resignation with LHL promptly rejecting and come out and said it is OK, then all this flak would have gone away and WKS may end up looking quite good.”
What do you expect from Singapore Junta ?
They themselves feel so insecure that if they think that if they concede to the demand of the citizen, it will set the precedent for the future to come. It is not hard to see who’s the next incompetence clown to be kicked off our unelite caring face.
ErniesUrn
I think WKS will be remebered for all times in our history books, blogs, online archives, coffeshop talk right down to my grand children and so on. I cannot see how he function without Singaporeans relating him to this entire scandal. It would have been wise of him to have expressed some continued apology so as to restore his good name and apease those who might vote him into parliment in the next GE. If he is going to contest in a GRC again, that team might not perform. I’m sorry mr wong, seems like your future might be a liability to your future GRC team.
ironman
I concur with ErnieUrn, if WKS contests in the next GE, he might become a liability to his team – people will remember him for the MSK case.
Disgusted
totally disgusted when I read the following by WKS :
“The current ISD OIC for WRDC holds a Superscale rank equivalent to a Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police or a Brigadier General in the SAF. He is a Command Director who reports directly to Director ISD. He oversees a directorate of several distinct functional divisional units. WRDC is one of these functional units.
The COI found that the ISD OIC had properly discharged his duties and was not at fault. The COI’s view is that it is necessary for the ISD OIC to delegate his statutory responsibility given his full-time job as a Command Director. The COI observed that the ISD OIC had in fact made several improvements to the WRDC. He instituted proper systems and procedures and also recruited a full-time Superintendent with the requisite experience and qualifications to take charge of the administration of WRDC.
I accepted the COI’s assessment that the ISD OIC is not at fault. Nevertheless, I decided to relieve this Command Director of the ISD OIC appointment. This was done on 24 Apr 2008. Even though he was not responsible for the lapses of specific officers down the line, he bears responsibility on account of his statutory appointment as Officer-in-Charge of WRDC.
Although this Command Director has not been subjected to disciplinary action, the incident and his removal from the OIC appointment will have a bearing on his performance appraisal.”
This is so blatantly unjust ! The buck stopped at the Command Director even when the COI felt he was not at fault. Why the heck does he bear responsibility on account of his statutory appointment as Officer in charge while the Director ISD and the Minister himself get off scot free ?
How can WKS look himself in the mirror each day ? Shame !!
Pee Ay Pee
All WKS did is apologise and still employed and nothing happen to him, and everyone else is scarred for life… Shouldn’t WKS be replaced as well?
The so-called chance for the officers to explain themselves… Will be turn on deaf ears…
The reason that WKS is still DPM is because PM Lee is defending him. The leader of Singapore is defending WKS, who dare to go against him?
“Although the command director was neither directly nor indirectly linked to the lapses of specific officers down the line, and he was not at fault over the lapses, Mr Wong said he was formally the apex of the supervisory and management chain of command overseeing the detention centre. ”
How neat that the “apex” stops just right before Wong Kan Seng himself, eh?
I would have thought that the person right at the very top of the apex was Wong Kan Seng? Oh yea, that only applies when there is credit and praise to be received.
But if it’s blame and responsibility and punishment, the apex stops a little lower.
Shame.