Little India riot: Foreign workers’ dissatisfaction did not cause riot, says COI

SINGAPORE – Foreign workers’ dissatisfaction with employment and living conditions in Singapore was not a cause of the riot that happened on Dec 8 last year, said the Committee of Inquiry (COI) looking into the riot .

Racial issues were also not the cause, said the COI in its report made public today (June 30).

While riots are typically classified as instrumental, where groups resort to violence to express discontent over specific issues, or expressive, where a minority group uses violence to express dissatisfaction at living conditions, the COI’s view is that the riot was a “unique event” outside of those categories.

The report listed five reasons for that verdict: The rioters comprised a small minority of foreign workers, it was not planned, it was not related to ethnic discrimination, no one has come forth in support of the rioters’ actions, and police brutality was not involved.

Instead, the riot was “a purely criminal riot with no motivation which some might find legitimate”, said the report. “What the rioters did on the night of December 8 was clearly illegal and uncalled for, and abused the freedom that Singapore has afforded them as transient workers in the country.”

The COI added that while it is satisfied that employment and living conditions were not the cause of the riot, “this is not to say that a riot may never occur on this basis”.

The report acknowledged that there are foreign workers here who face such difficulties, based on evidence submitted to the Inquiry by non-governmental organisations, and made suggestions to improve the conditions for foreign workers.

Suggestions include making annual pay increments a norm in the industry, better educating workers on their rights and protections, training those who deal with foreign workers on cultural sensitivity, forming support groups for the workers, and continuously improving their accommodation facilities.