Agence France-Presse noted, "Terrorism is usually no laughing matter, especially not in security-conscious Singapore, but the escape from custody of a limping Islamist extremist suspect has led to scorn on the Internet." Online critics also accused the pro-government media of trying to play down the incident and skirting key issues. Speculations and conspiracy theories abounded in Internet chatrooms and blogs, such as that Mas Selamat had died in detention or that he was purposefully let out in order to allow authorities to search for other terrorists.