Speaking in Parliament, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged that Muslim terror suspect Mas Selamat Kastari's escape from a detention center should never have happened.

"We must admit our mistakes openly and honestly, put them right, and act against those who have been culpable," Lee said.

But Lee said he remained confident in Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng, as well as the top management of Wong's ministry, whom the leader said were not to blame. Wong is also a deputy prime minister.

"I am satisfied that the ministry has taken the correct remedial and disciplinary action, and that the minister and top management were not to blame for what has happened," Lee said.

The Home Ministry oversees the Internal Security Department, which runs the Whitley Road Detention Center where Mas Selamat, like other terror suspects, was being detained without trial.

Wong had reported Monday the results of a government probe into the Feb 27 jailbreak of Mas Selamat, who once allegedly plotted to hijack an airplane and crash it into Singapore's international airport.

The probe showed that Mas Selamat had slipped out through an unsecured bathroom window when surveillance cameras were turned off.

The escape triggered a month long nationwide manhunt in which police, special operations officers, elite Gurkha guards and soldiers combed the island nation's forests. Border security was tightened. Authorities believe Mas Selamat is still in the country.

Lee said he understood that the government had to be accountable to its citizens for mistakes that happen, but urged the public against overreacting.

"I think it's true that Singaporeans have very high expectations of their government and therefore whenever there's a lapse, they take it very seriously," he said. "But the last thing we need is a witch hunt which would damage and demoralize our intelligence and security agencies."

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