24 Tamils held for riots in Singapore

Singapore: Singapore faced shocking scenes of burning cars and littered streets Monday following a riot by South Asian workers in the worst outbreak of violence in more than 40 years in the tightly controlled city-state.

The hour-long fracas on Sunday night, triggered when an Indian construction worker was struck and killed by a private bus in the Little India district, compelled Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to order the creation of a special committee to investigate the incident.

The trouble started after a private bus fatally knocked down an Indian pedestrian, 33-year-old Sakthivel Kumaravelu, around 9.20 pm at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road in Little India, a precinct of Indian-origin businesses, eateries and pubs where most of the South Asian workers take their Sunday break, they said.

Singapore bans alcohol sale,consumption in riot area

Sale and consumption of alcohol will be banned this coming weekend in the area where riot broke out. Announcing the ban on Monday, Second Minister for Home Affairs S Iswaran said details of the ban, such as exactly what time it would apply and what geographical area it would cover, would be worked out by the police.

Though it was too early to say definitively what caused the riot, which was triggered after a fatal traffic accident, it is "plausible that alcohol consumption was a contributory factor", The Straits Times quoted the Minister as saying. "And that is why we have taken this step in the first instance in order to stabilise the situation," stressed Iswaran after visiting the area Monday evening. 

400 people involved in violence: Police

Police said about 400 people were involved in the riot, and that 27 South Asian workers had been arrested on charges punishable by up to seven years in prison as well as caning. Police said the 27 men arrested were aged between 23 and 45, and included 24 Indian nationals, two Bangla­deshis and one Singapore permanent resident.

However, the Singapore police have released two Bangladeshis after investigations showed they were not involved in the riot. 

The Indians were on Tuesday brought to a court to face charges. All the accused face charges under "rioting with dangerous weapons", punishable by up to seven years in prison as well as caning.

Lee said there could be “no excuse” for the rampage that left 39 police and civil defence staff injured, and 25 vehicles — including 16 police cars — damaged or torched. “The riot was an isolated incident arising from the unlawful actions of an unruly mob reacting to a fatal traffic accident,” Lee said in a statement.

Sunday’s violence was the first riot in Singapore since racial disturbances in 1969. Since then, the government has imposed strict controls on protests. Singapore is one of the wealthiest places in the world, but the island republic of 5.4 million people depends heavily on guest workers, with labourers from South Asia dominating sectors like construction.

Widely regarded as one of the world’s safest societies, the city-state prides itself on social order and racial harmony, and many citizens expressed dismay over the mayhem.

The riot was quickly followed by some anti-India posts on the Web, some of them even saying that ‘Indians must get out of Singapore’.

Some others reasoned that the riots could have been triggered by sympathy for a colleague and countryman killed under the wheels of a private bus while a few wondered why the police, who usually indulged in so much of screening of civilians during normal time, took such a long time to reach the place and a longer time to bring the situation under control. 

YouTube had almost seven minutes of video shot by a resident in a high-rise apartment that showed the rioters throwing stones and large dustbins at the ‘villain’ bus while a couple of ambulances and one police car , but hardly any policemen seen.

Next: Rampaging Tamils shatter Singapore peace

Rampaging Tamils shatter Singapore peace

Singapore: Singaporeans woke up to unfamiliar images of burnt cars and littered streets Monday after a fatal road accident triggered a riot by South Asian workers, the worst outbreak of violence in more than 40 years.

The riot erupted late Sunday in tightly-controlled Singapore's congested Little India district after a 33-year-old Indian construction worker, Sakthivel Kumaravelu, , who had been working in scaffolding company Heng Hup Soon for two years, was run over by a private bus.

At least five vehicles including three police cars were torched in the violence. The situation was brought under control after elite police commandos arrived at the scene. The 22 police officers and five auxiliary police officers injured during the riot have all been discharged from the hospital.

Commissioner of Police Ng Joo Hee also denounced the violence as 'intolerable'. "Rioting, destruction of property, it is not the Singapore way," he told a news conference early Monday. The violence has tarnished multi-ethnic Singapore's long held reputation for public order.

Migrant labour activist Jolovan Wham said it was difficult to determine whether the violence was a symptom of 'pent-up rage' among the workers. “We should not see this 'riot' as just mindless violence which does not reflect the 'Singapore way', as the commissioner for police says," he said.

"We'll need to wait for more information before drawing any firm conclusions." State-linked broadcaster MediaCorp said it was the first riot in Singapore since racial disturbances in 1969.

Singapore depends heavily on guest workers, with labourers from South Asia dominating sectors like construction. Many congregate in Little India on Sundays to shop, dine and drink The incident immediately triggered online attacks on foreign workers in Singapore, but officials called for calm and warned against speculation.

Retiree Basher Marican, 69, who was returning home when the riot escalated, said the "crowd was clearly drunk". "They had beer and liquor bottles in their hands and some were throwing them," he said in Tamil. "It was very unruly, I walked past a crowd along the restaurants. There were some who were cheering others as they attacked the bus," he said.

Singapore is one of the wealthiest places in the world, but the island republic of 5.4 million people depends heavily on guest workers, with labourers from South Asia dominating sectors like construction. Widely regarded as one of the world's safest societies, the city-state prides itself on social order and racial harmony, and many citizens expressed dismay over the mayhem.

“My God,” a reader named Hayeden wrote on the Yahoo! Singapore website. "How can such a thing happen to my Singapore." Prominent blogger Andrew Loh said Singaporeans were astonished as "we have not seen something of this scale before".
The mob, apparently attacked an ambulance and a traffic police highway patrol car responding to the accident.

Projectiles were thrown at the rescuers while they were extricating  Kumaravelu's body. Police cars, an ambulance and a fire engine arrived at the scene. One police car was overturned by the crowd.

Two more police cars were overturned after the fire engine and ambulance moved away. The mob then burned one police car and ambulance. They dispersed when riot police arrived on the scene and brought the situation under control, according to reports appearing in Singapore newspapers.