SINGAPORE has released a 48-year-old man who was a senior member of the JI terror network here headed by Mas Selamat Kastari.

Arifin Ali, also known as John Wong Ah Hung, was freed and placed on a Restriction Order on Monday, said the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday.

Such an order means his activities are limited. For instance, he has to attend counselling sessions, and needs approval before changing jobs or going abroad.

Arifin was arrested and detained in 2003, two years after he had fled the country during a security crackdown on the JI group here.

'Since his detention in June 2003, Arifin had cooperated in investigations and shown considerable progress in his rehabilitation,' the ministry said.

'He is assessed to no longer pose a security threat that requires further preventive detention,' it added in a statement.

Arifin was arrested in Bangkok by the Thai authorities in May 2003, following information given by the Internal Security Department (ISD), and deported to Singapore.

While hiding in Thailand, he was involved with a group of like-minded individuals in plotting terrorist attacks against targets in Thailand.

The MHA also said that it had arrested another Singaporean in April this year.

He is Ahmad Jalaluddin Sanawi, 53, who has been issued with a two-year Restriction Order on May 6.

Ahmad was a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the Philippines and had undergone military training at the group's camp there.

He had also contributed to its fund-raising efforts.

Ahmad left Singapore in December 2001 and had remained in hiding overseas since then to evade the Singapore authorities. He surrendered to the ISD in April.