SINGAPORE : RIOT IN THE LITTLE INDIA
[ 44 Images. 2 Videos & Updates ]
8th December 2013 marks a new chapter in Singapore's History. Riot breaks out at the Little India. OSINT, Here are some raw information that we managed to gather from various sources.
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IMAGES FROM VARIOUS SOURCES ON THE INTERNET
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 HAPPENING NOW: Police press conference underway – DPM Teo says this is a serious incident sparked by an accident between a private bus and pedestrian. 33-year-old Indian national killed in Little India riot. 27 people arrested – all from South Asia. DPM Teo says those involved will be dealt with fairly, firmly, strictly and in accordance to the law 
SINGAPORE — Chaos broke out in Little India last night (Dec 8), after a crowd of hundreds surrounded a coach at the junction of Race Course Road and Tekka Lane that knocked down and killed an Indian national.
The riot, which the police said involved about 400 people, broke out around 9.30pm. The police said 27 South Asians have been arrested. More could be hauled in as investigations continue. The case has been classified as rioting with dangerous weapons.
In total, there were 18 casualties including 10 police officers, four Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel, as well as the coach driver - whom the police said is Singaporean - and his assistant. Six remained at Tan Tock Seng hospital overnight but their conditions were “not serious”, the authorities said.
Writing on Facebook at close to 3am, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the riot was a “very grave incident”. “Several police officers were injured, and vehicles damaged or destroyed. The situation is now under control, and investigations are underway.” he said.
“Whatever events may have sparked the rioting, there is no excuse for such violent, destructive, and criminal behaviour. We will spare no effort to identify the culprits and deal with them with the full force of the law.”
The incident began after the SCDF was alerted at 9.25pm to a road accident in Little India. In a statement, SCDF said that a man was trapped under the bus when its officers arrived on the scene and a paramedic pronounced the man dead. While SCDF rescuers were extricating the body using hydraulic rescue equipment, “projectiles” were thrown at them, the statement said.
Eye witnesses told TODAY that they heard shouting before a crowd that had gathered at the scene started hurling bottles and rubbish bins at the police and SCDF vehicles. The crowd became more rowdy and threw more items including metal grates, baskets, vegetables and pieces of road dividers at law enforcement personnel.
Several police cars were overturned and five vehicles - three police vehicles, an SCDF ambulance and a motorbike - were burnt. In total, five police vehicles and nine SCDF vehicles were damaged.
A press conference was held after 2am at the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean, who was flanked by Second Home Affairs Minister S Iswaran, Police Commissioner Ng Joo Hee and Deputy Police Commissioner T Raja Kumar.
Mr Teo, who visited the scene with Mr Iswaran after the riot was brought under the control, noted the riot started after a crowd reacted to the fatal accident. “The Government will not tolerate such lawless behaviour. I have asked Police to deal with all aspects of the incident, including the traffic accident, what happened immediately after the traffic accident, and all ensuing incidents,” he said. “Police will investigate the matter thoroughly and deal with all the persons involved strictly, firmly, and fairly according to our laws.”
Noting that this was the first case of street rioting in three or four decades, Mr Ng said that in the days ahead, the authorities will pay “extra attention” to Little India as well as foreign worker dormitories and areas where they congregate.
The police deployed 300 officers - from the Special Operations Command and the Gurkha Contingent - to quell the riot and no shot were fired, said Mr Ng. The situation was brought under control within 1.5 hours.
Twitter and Facebook were abuzz over the incident, with witnesses posting photos and videos, leading Acting Minister for Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin to write 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 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).”
Yesterday evening, a private Singaporean bus driver knocked down and killed a pedestrian in Little India. This sparked a large, angry riot with over 400 people marching through the street shouting, throwing bottles and causing havoc.
(See full story at: Huge Riot breaks out in Little India leaving multiple cars on fire)
While it is clear that this fatal accident was what sparked the protest, we can also reflect to see why such an incident could cause such a huge reaction.
If everyone was happy with their lives and there was not much stress, an accident such as this would usually result in a few police and an ambulance being called, followed by friends and family of the victim going to the hospital or otherwise mourning and helping authorities take down statements.
Why was there such a violent outburst?
Some witness reports indicate that the Police had perhaps not handled the situation well. (See: Truth behind Little India Riot)
On the surface, this could easily be put down to the foreign workers being more rowdy and less law-abiding than Singaporeans but in reality everyone has a boiling point and people are not naturally very violent or blood-thirsty.
The big difference might be that we are taught from young to be fearful of the government and listen to authority.
When foreign workers come to Singapore, they do not have the same “training” and can become more rowdy more easily.
This is particularly a problem when the government brings these FTs here in large numbers and they bring with them their values and cultures and do not learn from Singaporeans how they should act here.
Last night, this was clearly a problem with a large, rowdy riot breaking out.
Many netizens commented that the photos and videos looked like they were not taken in Singapore and further raised concerns that if this is happening, it is not a far stretch to say that other problems such as higher crime rates and more occurrences of rape might be happening soon too.
Although the government was quick to condemn people for politicking the situation, some reflection is necessary. Tan Chuan-Jin posted to facebook:
“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.”
Now that the situation is over and under control, reflection on the real cause of the incident could help to prevent such issues from occurring again.
These people must have been stressed out and otherwise frustrated with their lives to so eagerly break out in a huge riot.
This could be due to work-related factors such as long work hours, low pay, no welfare and other forms of exploitation from their bosses. Singapore has many reported cases of foreign worker exploitation so this is really not an unrealistic possibility.
Singapore has no effective workers’ unions and so workers’ complaints and concerns are very rarely heard.
When people are oppressed in such a way with no way to vent their frustration or get recourse, they will eventually boil over. All their frustration and stress is like fuel awaiting a spark to ignite the flame. Perhaps this is what happened yesterday evening.
Of course, it was still wrong for the people to act out in such a way so as to endanger lives and property but it is not fair to make racist remarks.
These people are not too different from Singaporeans, it’s just that they might not be as “well trained” as Singaporeans to not act out.
When Singaporeans are angry, we “riot” online through social media and alternative news sites.
What is worrying is that the PAP is also interested in clamping down on online freedom and dissent. When Singaporeans turn to the online space to vent their frustrations, it is dangerous for the PAP to stem such discussions as it effectively closes to stress release valve and Singaporeans will continue to get more and more frustrated.
If the government never listens to the people and never changes, how much longer do you think Singaporeans can just quietly take it?
Singaporeans continue to work the longest hours in the world, have high levels of stress and high suicide rates and many go online to vent. Meanwhile, thousands of foreigners are brought in in the name of pushing GDP growth.
Perhaps Singapore should take this riot as an opportunity to reflect on the current situation and decide what Singapore’s priority should be.
Should we continue to chase GDP at the expense of workers, exploiting foreigners and locals alike and allowing stress to boil over, or should we look more into welfare and keeping stress at a manageable level?
Perhaps nurturing local talent and ensuring “undesirable” jobs have a living-wage could help the situation. If only the government listened to the people’s concerns more.
Mohd Farhan
TRS Chief Editor
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