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More measures to be taken to limit alcohol sale in Little India

SINGAPORE — Too many liquor licences have been issued in Little India, but more will be done to limit the number of such licences, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew in the wake of Sunday night’s riot in the area.

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SINGAPORE — Too many liquor licences have been issued in Little India, but more will be done to limit the number of such licences, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew in the wake of Sunday night’s riot in the area.

Future plans could include putting a cap on the number of licences issued, demarcating areas where drinking is allowed and setting a time for it, he added.

“I think, sometimes, some of these incidents, even if not directly caused by people who are alcohol-fuelled, are actually something that can add to the severity,” said Mr Lui, who is the area’s Member of Parliament, after visiting Race Course Road and Chander Road yesterday morning.

Referring to the ongoing consultation conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is proposing tighter rules on the sale of alcohol, such as no-alcohol zones and shorter hours for liquor sale at some retail outlets, Mr Lui said: “What we wanted to do was to limit the number of licences within this area as our feel is that (in) Little India, the number of licences that have been given or are being used have increased too significantly and too much.”

Sunday’s riot was sparked after Indian national Sakthivel Kumaravelu was hit by a private bus at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road. About 400 people then took to the streets, damaging 25 police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) vehicles.

A total of 22 police officers, 12 SCDF officers and five auxiliary police officers were injured. The police yesterday said Mr Sakthivel had been drinking prior to the accident.

While it was “hard to say definitively” if the riot was sparked by an alcohol-fuelled crowd, Mr Lui said evidence of drinking could be observed during his visit to Race Course Road on Sunday night.

He also noticed that beer bottles and caps were among the other items used to damage vehicles in the riot.

“I think it was quite evident, (from) the smell and the environment, alcohol could have been a contributing factor,” he said.

Fuelling the mix are the many foreign workers who gather in the area on weekends. On Sundays, about 20 private buses take foreign workers to Little India. They alight at the drop-off point along Hampshire Road between 4pm and 11pm, said Vice-Chairman of Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association (LISHA) Raja Gopal.

Residents called for the number of liquor licences to be reduced. Mr Martin Pereira, Chairman of the Tekka Residents’ Committee, noticed there had been an increase in the number of such licences issued in the area.

“I think the problem is all across Little India for the time being because of the marketability of liquor here,” he said.

However, Mr Suresh Kumar, 35, owner of SYMD along Race Course Road, said foreign workers had been buying liquor from him for some time and had never caused problems.

Mr K Raju, 36, owner of Tasmac Mart along Chander Road, said during the weekend, 99 per cent of his customers are foreign workers.

“They just want to enjoy and meet their friends but, when they drink too much and (get) emotional, something like this can happen,” he said.

Separately, to tackle the traffic situation along Race Course Road, Mr Lui said the situation has improved in recent years, after auxiliary police officers were deployed and barricades were put up along Buffalo Road. Additional reporting by Tiara Hamarian

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