Police have advised netizens against spreading unsubstantiated information in the aftermath of the violence in Little India on Sunday night.
They said such acts would be unhelpful to investigations, may generate unnecessary public alarm, and cause fear and panic in the community.
They also said it was a fact that police officers displayed maximum restraint and did not fire any weapon throughout the incident, and this had prevented the incident from escalating further.
Police also said they resolved the situation and had it under control within an hour.
Singapore Police Force Update
- As at 12pm today, 22 Police Officers and 5 Auxilliary Police Officers have sought treatment at the hospital. The officers sustained injuries and lacerations. All of them have since been discharged from the hospital.
- Police have classified the traffic incident as Causing Death by Negligent Act under Section 304A (b), Penal Code Cap 224. The driver is assisting Traffic Police with investigations into the traffic incident.
- The subsequent incident as Rioting with Dangerous Weapons under Section 148, Penal Code Cap 224. 27 subjects, aged 23 to 45, have been arrested in connection with the rioting incident.
- Out of the 27 subjects, 24 are Indian nationals, 2 are Bangladeshi nationals and 1 is a Singaporean Permanent Resident.
- The damaged vehicles have been removed from Race Course Road and Hampshire Road and the affected roads were opened at 6.45am.
Members of the public are advised not to speculate on this incident. Members of the public with any information of the riot are advised to submit them via www.spf.gov.sg/iwitness and www.spf.gov.sg/CrimeStopper.
Singapore Civil Defence Force Update
Twelve Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers who were injured in Sunday night's violence in Little India have been discharged from hospital.
- In a statement on Monday afternoon, SCDF said the 12 officers had sustained lacerations on the face and cuts on their hands when projectiles were hurled at them while they were carrying out their duties at the scene.
- The 12 were among 60 SCDF officers deployed to Little India.
- SCDF also sent out six ambulances, one Red Rhino, one fire engine and four support vehicles to the scene, where a riot had broken out.
- Of these, nine vehicles were badly damaged, including three ambulances, the Red Rhino, the fire engine and the support vehicles.
- The remaining vehicles were damaged in varying degrees, from scratches to smashed windscreens.
It added that the morale and spirit of its personnel remain high.
Police conduct investigations at foreign workers’ quarters
Police conducted investigations at workers’ quarters at Avery Lodge today (Dec 9), a day after riots broke out at Little India.
Several police cars, a special operations command vehicle and police vans were seen parked at the lodge, which houses workers from India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China.
TODAY understands that police have been conducting operations at the lodge since early this morning.
"I didn't think it would happen so close to home"
Jovial Chng Wen Yan, a 19-year old Nanyang Polytechnic student, was one of the first few to tweet and Instagram pictures of the Little India riots.
It was around 9.45pm when I heard a lot of glass bottles breaking and shouting. I took a look out of my window and I could see a riot happening.
I went back to my computer game but my mom alerted me that the riot was getting from bad to worse. This was around 10.15-10.30pm. The situation escalated very quickly and there were hundreds of them. I heard sirens and saw the crowd overturning the police cars. The next thing I saw were the vehicles bursting into flames.
It didn’t take long for the riot police to come... But I saw things flying towards the riot police so I assume there were some rioters attacking them. I then heard a loud sound from one of the red vehicles which they used to control the crowd.
I’m angry at the rioters for vandalizing the streets and hurting the police who are protecting us. It was my first encounter and it's quite traumatizing. I wasn’t expecting the rioters to overturn and burn the police cars. I hope incidents like these won’t happen again.
Singapore Police, SCDF draw praise for handling of Little India riot
Police and civil defence authorities have won praise from the public for the handling of the rare incident.
Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin said in a Facebook post:
... I am very proud too of Singapore's police that a 400 man riot could be suppressed in an hour upon arrival - without shots being fired. NO SHOTS. What restraint! In some countries, a mob burning police cars might have triggered equally emotional reaction of police violence that would have escalated the riot further.
I am proud too of our SCDF team - some of them may even be just boys fresh out of school - who were first on scene. Can you imagine having to ascertain the victim's status, free him from under the bus while a crowd threatens to go ballistic around you?
So easy to judge from home what you would/would not do... until you are there in that moment..."
Postal services as usual in Little India, says SingPost
Singapore Post said its services in the Little India district are proceeding as usual.
Its Kitchener Road Post Office is open, and mail and parcels are being delivered in the area.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to convene a Committee of Inquiry to look into the riot in Little India on Sunday night.
The committee will look into the factors that led to the incident and how the incident was handled on the ground.
It will also review the current measures to manage areas where foreign workers congregate, whether they are adequate and how they can be improved.
The ministry will provide more details when ready.
India High Commission working with authorities, urges all to remain calm
The High Commission of India is working with the Singapore authorities to ascertain the facts of the riot at Little India.
"We shall continue to work with Singapore authorities to establish the identity of the Indian national who was killed in the accident and to provide all assistance to affected Indian nationals," the Commission said in a statement on Monday.
It has been almost 50 years since the last riot in Singapore. From ideological to racial conflicts, we look back at the events that led to violence on the streets.
Police battle mobs in Singapore, circa 1955: Police strive to hold a fierce crowd in check as strike riots organised by the Communists raged in Singapore for the second day, killing three persons -- including Gene Symonds, United Press manager for Southeast Asia -- and injuring a score of others.
Police were authorised to shoot if their lives were endangered, and a police tommy gunner opened fire when a rioter grabbed another policeman's pistol and started shooting. In most cases, tear gas, clubs and fire hoses sufficed to disperse the attacking mobs.
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