SINGAPORE — Chaos broke out at Little India yesterday night (Dec 8), after a crowd of hundreds surrounded a coach on the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road that knocked down and killed a man.
The riot, which the police said involved around 400 people, broke out around 9.20pm, the police said.
Ten police officers were injured, while several private vehicles, five police vehicles and one ambulance were damaged, the police said in a statement which was issued at 12.48am this morning (Dec 9).
At least two of the police cars were overturned as an angry mob swarmed the streets, while the ambulance was set on fire.
The commotion raged on for more than two hours and officers from Special Operations Command and Gurkha Contingent were deployed. The situation was brought under control around midnight.
It was not known what happened to the coach driver.
In the police statement, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean said: “This is a serious incident which has resulted in injuries and damage to public property. the situation is now under control. Police will spare no efforts to apprehend the subjects involved in the riot.”
Twitter and Facebook were abuzz over the incident, with witness posting photos and videos, leading Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin to post on his Facebook page: “Stay Calm. Don’t speculate. Singapore Police Force is on the ground. This is not a game. Nor time for politicking. Our guys are on the line. Support them please.”
Throughout the riot, the police also advised the public to stay away from the area.
One eyewitness told TODAY that he saw an ambulance arrive and paramedics attempt to extract the man who was pinned under the coach. When they were unable to, the crowd became incensed and began throwing things at the ambulance, shattering the windscreen.
Ms Faith Su, 31, who was at her relatives’ home near Race Course Road, said she heard the commotion around 9.45pm, when crowds began swarming around the coach, shouting and throwing things. “The situation escalated into a riot, there was overturning of the police cars that had arrived, and it looked like one of them caught fire and it was burning. Things only settled down a bit after the riot police arrived. I (could) still smell the smoke (around 11pm).”
Mr Nasharuddin Kahn, 32, a warehouse assistant, said he had stepped outside KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital to smoke when he saw police cars racing down Hampshire Road towards Little India, and had walked over to take a look. “(The crowd) was overturning cars and I could see police trying to stop them but they threw stones at them…the police was overwhelmed.”
Source : Today Online
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