One PR among those arrested for rioting in Little India

SINGAPORE — Twenty-four of the 27 people arrested in connection with yesterday’s rioting incident at Little India are Indian national while two are Bangladeshi nationals and 1 is a Singaporean Permanent Resident, the police said in a statement today (Dec 9).

The traffic accident that sparked the riot at Little India yesterday (Dec 8) has been classified as Causing Death by Negligent Act and the subsequent incident as Rioting with Dangerous Weapons.

The driver is assisting Traffic Police with investigations into the traffic incident.

Police received a call at 9:23pm yesterday with a message “A bus has knocked down someone here, ambulance required.” Police investigations revealed a fatal traffic accident had occurred between a private bus and a pedestrian at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road. Shortly after, a riot broke out involving a crowd of about 400 subjects where the subjects damaged several vehicles including 16 police vehicles.

About 300 Police Officers, including those from the Special Operations Command and the Gurkha Contingent, responded to the scene.

The accident victim, a 33-year-old Indian national, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at scene. The driver of the private bus, a 55-year-old Singaporean, was conveyed conscious to the hospital.

As at 12pm today, 22 Police Officers and 5 Auxilliary Police Officers have sought treatment at the hospital. The officers sustained injuries and lacerations. All of them have since been discharged from the hospital.

In a separate statement, the Singapore Civil Defence force said 60 of their personnel were deployed for the incident and 12 of whom sustained injuries such as lacerations on the face and cuts on their hands. The injuries sustained were due to projectiles hurled at them. All of them have since been discharged from the hospital.

In total, 9 SCDF vehicles were badly damaged. These include 3 ambulances, 1 Red Rhino, 1 fire engine and 4 support vehicles. One of the ambulances was completely burnt at the incident site, while the remaining vehicles had varying degree of damages such as smashed windshields, and scratches and dents to the doors and frame.