( dpa )- Police urged the public Sunday to call an emergency number if they see anything suspicious regarding the whereabouts of accused terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari , no matter how trivial the information may seem.
With the search for the alleged leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah's Singapore branch in its twelfth day, a spokesman said, "We take all such information provided seriously. As long as information is provided in good faith, there is no cause for concern."
Mas Selamat's escape after being granted permission to go to the toilet has sparked the biggest manhunt in Singapore's history.
Police accused a 50-year-old bus driver of providing false information about Mas Selamat after he fled from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on February 27.
The driver allegedly claimed he saw the 47-year-old fugitive riding pillion on a motorcycle. It turned out the motorcycle's owner had been involved in a road- roage incident with the driver on the day of the escape.
Mas Selamat , who has a limp in his left leg, has been accused of plotting six years ago to hijack a plane and crash it into Changi Airport. He was also accused of involvement in plans to attack the US Embassy, the American Club and Singapore government buildings.
In an unusual twist, comedian Ahmad Stokin , 57, told The Sunday Times several people have come up to him saying he looks like the fugitive. The 1.6-metre-tall Ahmad limps when he walks quickly or runs.
"I guess the public should be mature enough to know that if I were Mas Selamat , I wouldn't be walking around in public," he was quoted as saying.
His limp in the right leg is the result of an operation.
"Now I try to walk slowly instead," he said.
Checks of vehicles at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints to Malaysia have left traffic jams 4 kilometres long. Bus operators said reservations for Malaysian destinations had dropped 30 per cent compared to last year's term break at schools.
Still convinced the fugitive is in Singapore, police were scouring forests, jungle areas, the shore and seas.
Indonesia's army also beefed up border patrols and set up roadblocks. The Java-born Mas Selamat fled Singapore in December 2001 and was subsequently arrested twice in Indonesia for violating the country's immigration laws. He was sent back to Singapore in 2006.
Singapore is in danger of an attack if Mas Selamat gets into Indonesia where he "has his old networks," warned Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. "Then we have to watch out for a return hit sometime."
More than 1,000 officers from the Special Operations Command, police land divisions, Gurkhas and immigration officers have been involved in the search.
At the Singapore government's request, Interpol sent a photograph, fingerprints and other information to its 186 agencies worldwide, identifying the fugitive as a "potential threat to the safety and security of the public at large around the world."