Revisit CIA Adventure 1961 from exotic angle

 America is a superpower and Singapore is a little red dot, like David and Goliath. America is so powerfully sophisticated with its Central Intelligence Agency which is the top most without equal intelligence outfit in the world with very highly-trained James Bond type intelligence officers whose espionage prowess is so pervasive that there is no place in the world that it cannot reach. They go for broke when necessary. The Russian KGB and later SVR intelligence  seriices are equally formidable as the CIA in performances and more brutal as they do not baulk at assissations while the CIA are more selective.

CIA and MI6 were occasionally engaged in subtle rivalry. CIA suspected MI6 or 5 of withholding security intelligence on Singapore which made it neceesary for them to find alternativve sources including the possinlity of finding an intelligence agent. They could not believe their luck that they had an agent who worked in a Chinese newspaper who was a close associatre of mine.I think this agent must have convinced them that he could get me to work for them. So they sent him to sound me and I reported the approach to my superior Richard Corridon. He took me straitaway to see the Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who was surprised but not unexpected. He ordered me to accept and we will see how it progressed and what action to take.

I contacted the agent and informed him that I would accept the CIA offer. He arranged for me to meet a  CIA officer the next day.who was quite a burly chap but not particularly sharp. We got along fo a few days chatting with each other and he was truing to assess my suitability for the job. I gave daily report to Corridon  who briefed Lee Kuan Yew. It was the decided to terminate the charade and make the necessary arresr. 

There was going to be a final meeting with the CIA officer at a safe house which was actually an embassy secretary.s apartment..a special branch task force will surround the buidling and move in to arrest as soon as I emerged from it.I was caught by surprised when I found that they had brought in two polygrahers from Saigon to take me through a lie detector test. I had to make an excuse because that would expose me and I will be in life danger. I gave such a pwerile excuse that no one would believe that. They told me to wait and went into a huddle to decide what to do. I ws sweating and when they came out  I was holding my breath. The one with the benign face calmly told me I could go and we meet another day.

I could not believe my ears and it took me sometime to reaslise myself. I took a quite retreat out of the door and the ISD task force descended on them and made the arrest. The two polygrahers managed to escape in a car and were pursued by an SB team. Halfway they threw the polygrapher out of their ca and was picked up by the SB pursuer. This is now displayed in the ISD Heritage Centre.

All three CIA officer and polygraphers were detained and the CIA officer who masqueraded as embassy first secretary was declared a persona non grata and departed for the US.

This took the world by storm and Lee Kuan Yew by such exaltations in his life that he found it hard to belieive that it was not a dream. He was a very astute individual and he did not remiss in capitalising on it. He made sure I did not steal his thunder and never mentioned my name in public, whether press conference or other occasion. Of course he he did not want it to show that  my humble self propelled his world political standing to a dizzying height.so that he bould browbeat US President John Kennedy and extorted 30 million USD as compensation but Kennedy was no pushover and just  cocked a snook at him. He told a meeting with world newspaer leaders that this was like a James Bond adventure. In favt this could be made into a movie but there will be interdiciton because of sensitivity.

At the request of the US government Lord Silkirk, the British High Comissioner in Singapore, appealed to Lee Kuan Yew for the release of the CIA officers after a few months of detention. They were released and returned to US for family reunion. Lee Kuan Yew Had a very high respect for Lord Silkirk.

I think USA cannot escape from a diminuition of its world prestige and influence.