Committee of Inquiry to probe Little India riot
26 to be charged today as details of Sunday's events emerge
By Francis Chan, The Straits Times, 10 Dec 2013
THE Prime Minister yesterday ordered a Committee of Inquiry (COI) into the cause of the unrest in Little India, as police gave a detailed account of the previous night's fiery riot that left a nation stunned.
The bus driver involved in the fatal road accident that is believed to have sparked the violence has been arrested, and is facing a charge of causing death by a negligent act.
The 55-year-old driver, whose surname is Lim but is known as Ah Huat to friends, is out on bail, pending further investigations.
A total of 28 men, aged between 23 and 45, were arrested in relation to the rioting. Some 26 of them - 25 foreign and one Singapore permanent resident - are due to be charged with rioting today. Two others were not involved in the fracas.
Yesterday, eyewitnesses and police gave details of the events that led to the rioting by 400 people, who attacked first responders and set emergency vehicles on fire.
The descent into chaos apparently began over a bus ride. Construction worker Sakthivel Kumaravelu, 33, had tried to force his way on board a shuttle bus that was already full for a ride back to his dormitory in Tuas.
The Indian national was told to step off the bus by a timekeeper, whose job was to keep track of the bus' arrival and departure times. He dropped his trousers before he staggered off the bus.
The descent into chaos apparently began over a bus ride. Construction worker Sakthivel Kumaravelu, 33, had tried to force his way on board a shuttle bus that was already full for a ride back to his dormitory in Tuas.
The Indian national was told to step off the bus by a timekeeper, whose job was to keep track of the bus' arrival and departure times. He dropped his trousers before he staggered off the bus.
Police said preliminary investigations indicated he was drunk.
Eyewitnesses said that, soon after he got off, he fell onto the path of the bus and was run over.
Videos uploaded on social media within the hour of the accident show the bus being set on by a mob, as Mr Sakthivel's body remained pinned under it.
One man in the mob was seen in a video hitting the windscreen and windows of the bus with a pole, while another smashed a litter bin at it from close range, shattering the front windscreen.
A fast-growing crowd cheered them and began hurling vulgarities in Tamil, before turning violent in a matter of minutes, said eyewitnesses.
The authorities said first responders to the accident, including a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) ambulance and a police patrol car, arrived 16 minutes after they received a call for help at 9.23pm.
The SCDF rescuers were trying to free the victim from under the bus with hydraulic tools when the crowd began attacking them. "Projectiles were thrown at the SCDF rescuers while they were extricating the body," said a spokesman.
The mob spiralled out of control quickly after that, turning on the police, including the reinforcements who had arrived by then.
Police officers used riot shields to surround the SCDF rescuers as they evacuated the bus driver, timekeeper and Mr Sakthivel's body to a nearby ambulance.
They were pelted with assorted items, from concrete slabs to dustbins. Some 25 emergency vehicles were badly damaged.
"Some of the men lit beer bottles with fire and threw them at the police, I saw them throw more than 10 bottles," said Mr P. Kannan, who was waiting for a friend at the Little India MRT station.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lu Yeow Lim said the sight of the shields did appear to heighten tensions, adding that this was something they would probe further. "That somehow angered them, we don't know why."
Yesterday, Second Minister for Home Affairs S. Iswaran said that while it was too early to say definitively what caused the riot, it was "plausible that alcohol consumption was a contributory factor".
That is why the authorities are planning to enforce a complete ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol this coming weekend in the Race Course Road area "in order to stabilise the situation".
The details of the ban, such as what time it will apply, will be worked out by police, he added.
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, who is the MP for the ward in Moulmein-Kallang GRC, said he had wanted curbs on the sale of alcohol in the area for some time, after seeing the proliferation of liquor licences there.
"I know my residents will fully support this immediate measure," he said, after touring the affected area with Mr Iswaran last night.
PM Lee Hsien Loong described it as a very serious incident, but called for calm. "We must not allow this bad incident to tarnish our views of the foreign worker community here."
Post by Lee Hsien Loong.
POLICE HANDLING OF SITUATION
'Conscious decision not to use deadly force'
The Straits Times, 10 Dec 2013THE police yesterday answered some key questions on how they handled the situation on Sunday.
When did the mob become really angry?
It appears they got angry when the police resorted to using shields to protect themselves, said Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Lu Yeow Lim, Tanglin Division Commander. "That somehow angered them, we don't know why," he said.
Why did the police respond in a non-violent way even if their lives were at stake?
The officers who arrived at the scene first were neighbourhood police officers armed with revolvers. There were people jeering, throwing stones at police, and overturning vehicles.
When did the mob become really angry?
It appears they got angry when the police resorted to using shields to protect themselves, said Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Lu Yeow Lim, Tanglin Division Commander. "That somehow angered them, we don't know why," he said.
Why did the police respond in a non-violent way even if their lives were at stake?
The officers who arrived at the scene first were neighbourhood police officers armed with revolvers. There were people jeering, throwing stones at police, and overturning vehicles.
"Their standoff distance was 40 or 50 metres, revolvers are not designed for that," said DAC Lu. "You may end up shooting somebody who is just jeering."
The officers waited for specialist troops to arrive. "It was a conscious decision not to use deadly force because training and experience from overseas suggest that a baton and shield tactic would be sufficient," he said.
Why did the police officers not use warning shots?
The workers appeared drunk and clearly violent, said the police. There was a chance that doing so would enrage them.
Special Operations Command (SOC) took about 40 minutes to arrive. Why did they take so long?
SOC officers had in fact arrived at the outskirts of the riot area, but could not get in as the roads were congested with buses coming to fetch foreign workers back to their dormitories, said DAC Lu. The heavy gear they were armed with also "does not allow for sprinting", he said. "I would think the delay is about 15 minutes."
How did police go about identifying and arresting the 27 individuals?
"Some of them were involved in hurling projectiles at us, so we were able to recognise them either through their attire or in some cases, because they still had weapons in their hands," DAC Lu said.
Could more have been done to quell the violence earlier?
Police officers were initially responding to a traffic accident, but the situation progressively grew worse.
Why did the police officers not use warning shots?
The workers appeared drunk and clearly violent, said the police. There was a chance that doing so would enrage them.
Special Operations Command (SOC) took about 40 minutes to arrive. Why did they take so long?
SOC officers had in fact arrived at the outskirts of the riot area, but could not get in as the roads were congested with buses coming to fetch foreign workers back to their dormitories, said DAC Lu. The heavy gear they were armed with also "does not allow for sprinting", he said. "I would think the delay is about 15 minutes."
How did police go about identifying and arresting the 27 individuals?
"Some of them were involved in hurling projectiles at us, so we were able to recognise them either through their attire or in some cases, because they still had weapons in their hands," DAC Lu said.
Could more have been done to quell the violence earlier?
Police officers were initially responding to a traffic accident, but the situation progressively grew worse.
It takes time for the SOC officers to arrive, and they had to enter the area on foot.
Why have only 27 suspects been arrested so far?
The rioters began to flee after the SOC was deployed. Police are talking to workers at several dormitories. Given the scale of this incident, it will take time.
Why have only 27 suspects been arrested so far?
The rioters began to flee after the SOC was deployed. Police are talking to workers at several dormitories. Given the scale of this incident, it will take time.
EVENTS THAT LED TO THE RIOT
Worker was drunk when he got on bus: Witnesses
He fell and was run over by the bus, sparking a mob attack
By Walter Sim, Lim Yan Liang And Lee Jian Xuan, The Straits Times, 10 Dec 2013
Worker was drunk when he got on bus: Witnesses
He fell and was run over by the bus, sparking a mob attack
By Walter Sim, Lim Yan Liang And Lee Jian Xuan, The Straits Times, 10 Dec 2013
INDIAN national Sakthivel Kumaravelu, 33, was so drunk he could barely stand up straight, according to witnesses.
When he was told to get off the bus that had come to take him and others back to their dormitory in Jurong as it was full, he dropped his pants in annoyance.
Citing two Bangladeshi eyewitnesses, Bengali newspaper Banglar Kantha editor A.K.M. Mohsin told The Straits Times the construction worker fell over at the junction of Race Course Road and Tekka Lane.
Shortly after, in front of a crowd of other workers, he was run over by the bus, operated by BT&Tan Transport.
The 55-year-old Singaporean driver, nicknamed Ah Huat, was turning onto Race Course Road when he heard a bang on the left side of the bus.
He got the timekeeper on board, Madam Wong Gek Woon, 38, to check what had happened.
From then on, the situation descended into chaos. A group set on Madam Wong when she got off the bus, initial investigations by the police showed. She was shepherded back on board by the South Asian passengers.
Shops shuttered and bystanders fled as the mob turned its attention on the bus with the victim still pinned underneath.
Not expecting anything more, the first to the scene, at 9.40pm, were two policemen from the Kampong Java Neighbourhood Police Centre and paramedics with the First Division of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
They were met by an unruly mob, which pelted the paramedics with objects while they worked to free the trapped man. The police immediately radioed for reinforcements.
The paramedics got his body out at about 10pm. At the same time, Special Operations Command (SOC) officers were being called in.
As more police arrived, the crowd grew more agitated, attacking them with dustbins and chairs, among others.
Eyewitness P. Kannan, who was at Little India MRT station, said: "Some lit beer bottles on fire and threw them at the police. I saw them throw more than 10 bottles."
As tensions rose, the mob cheered, whistled and yelled vulgarities in Tamil.
Officers from the SOC, Gurkha Contingent and SCDF could not get to the area because of the jam of people and vehicles, Commander of the Tanglin Police Division Lu Yeow Lim said last night. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lu said the officers needed to suit up into their thickest gear and make their way to the scene on foot. They arrived at 10.30pm.
Residents of Block 661, Buffalo Road, who had a bird's eye view of the riot, initially dismissed it as a normal noisy Sunday evening.
But then at least three patrol cars were turned on their sides and five vehicles were set on fire, triggering a few explosions before firefighters put out the blaze. One ambulance was razed.
Bartender Lim B. S., 50, said: "The explosion was so loud my mother and I fell off our chairs."
Mr Rohit Sodhi, 25, an employee at Jungle Tandoor Restaurant, said: "I heard what sounded like bombs going off. Three times. Then I saw a huge mob running towards my restaurant and down Upper Dickson Road. The police chased them."
Others wanted more than a front-row seat. Retired army officer Lee C.K., 65, went into the fray to photograph rioters to assist police in identifying them.
"Some men saw me taking pictures and said 'Uncle, uncle, cannot take'. They wanted to see what was on my phone, but I walked away quickly but confidently," he said, adding the men followed him until they realised he was walking towards police.
About 320 law enforcement officers were deployed. They were told not to use excessive force.
As officers charged at three pockets of resistance in the vicinity of Race Course Road, the mobs started to disperse towards the MRT station and Serangoon Road.
The officers patrolled Little India to ensure the mobs did not reform. All streets leading into the trouble area were sealed off.
The situation was contained at about 11.30pm. By then, 25 emergency vehicles had been wrecked.
Taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital with minor injuries were 22 policemen, 12 SCDF and five auxiliary police officers, the bus driver and Madam Wong.
Police have arrested 28 people, aged between 23 and 45. The bus driver has also been arrested, and is being investigated for causing death by negligence.
LITTLE INDIA RIOT: FACTS AND FIGURES
100
The initial size of the crowd when police and paramedics first reached the scene at about 9.40pm on Sunday, after a private bus had hit a 33-year-old Indian national
400
The crowd size at about 10pm, around the time police successfully extricated the victim's body. The crowd began attacking the bus, smashing its windscreen with rocks and metal rods
320
The number of police officers deployed to the scene, consisting of regular police officers and full-time national servicemen
22
The number of injured police officers
12
The number of injured civil defence personnel
5
The number of injured auxiliary officers
25
The number of police and SCDF vehicles damaged by rioters
5
Of the above, the number of police and SCDF vehicles that were set on fire
28
The number of suspects arrested so far in connection with the riot and vandalism of police vehicles. They include one Singapore permanent resident, 25 Indian nationals and two Bangladeshi nationals