SINGAPORE — Nine days after a riot broke out in Little India, police investigations into the incident have been completed.

Announcing that investigations have come to a close, the police said yesterday that a total of 28 suspects have been charged so far, while 53 others — who were rounded up yesterday in an islandwide operation — will be repatriated for their involvement in the Dec 8 riot which injured dozens of police officers and Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel and damaged public property.

Another 200 foreign workers were issued a formal police advisory but were allowed to continue working in Singapore as long as they abide by the law.

Speaking at a press conference, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said each of the cases was dealt with carefully. “I would like to stress that we deal with those involved in the riot in a strict, firm and fair way,” he said.

He added that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and the police went through the evidence. “Between the AGC and the police, they have to be satisfied about the evidence available before taking appropriate action against them,” said Mr Teo, who is also Home Affairs Minister.

Among the 53 workers who will be repatriated, one is a Bangladeshi national, while the others are from India. The majority of these workers, who were employed by 48 different companies here, have lived in Singapore for less than five years. About half of them worked in the building and construction sector, said Commissioner of Police Ng Joo Hee. The repatriation process started yesterday and some of the workers will be interviewed by the Committee of Inquiry.

The workers to be deported are being held at Admiralty West Prison — which serves as an immigration depot — while their travel arrangements are being finalised. Officers from the Manpower Ministry are facilitating the final settlements of their salaries, among other administrative procedures. The respective embassies have full consular access to these workers, the police said.

Mr Ng said the group to be repatriated were not charged in court as their involvement in the riot was “assessed to be less egregious”.

The authorities added that these foreign workers failed to disperse despite orders to do so and impeded the riot control and emergency rescue operations. “They threatened public order, making their continued presence in Singapore undesirable,” the police said. “They will be repatriated after being issued a stern warning. They will be prohibited from returning to Singapore.”

However, social worker Jolovan Wham, a member of Workfair Singapore, was concerned that the decision on the repatriation was made “arbitrarily without any avenues” for appeal. “It is only a question of natural justice that whenever a decision is made, there has to be an avenue for an appeal ... but our laws don’t allow it in relation to migrant (workers),” he added.

Transient Workers Count Too President Russell Heng said he hoped that for those who were issued a formal police advisory and allowed to remain here to work, their chances of renewing their work permits will not be affected in the future.

Speaking to reporters at a visit to a foreign workers’ dormitory, Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam explained that under the Immigration Act, “we have a right, when a determination is made that someone has acted contrary to our interest or has acted in a manner prejudicial to public security or safety, to ask them to leave”.

Mr Shanmugam noted that this was unlike some countries, where repatriation decisions were made in court. The judicial process for repatriation cases could stretch for a period of time and foreign workers involved would be housed in the country at taxpayers’ expense, he said. “Is that something we can afford, and is that the way we want to go, given the number of foreign workers we have in Singapore?” he added. “These are issues for society to decide.”

He reiterated that the current system “works quite well”. “Foreign workers who come here know that they have to behave and that if they don’t, they could be sent back and that keeps most of them on the straight and the narrow.”

Over the course of investigations, more than 500 police investigators were involved in interviewing almost 4,000 foreign workers, of whom 420 were called up for investigations. Thirty-five suspects were originally charged with rioting, but charges were withdrawn against seven after further review.

The 28 suspects who were charged — including two more who were hauled to court yesterday — had actively participated in the riot.

“Police investigations showed that these persons committed acts of violence, damaged property, defied police orders or incited others to do so. These include attacking uniformed personnel and damaging police and SCDF vehicles,” the police said.

Meanwhile, Mr Ng said investigations are continuing into the fatal traffic accident which preceded the riot. The police are getting an independent expert on accident reconstruction to “analyse the information that we have and to provide us with an additional opinion”, he said.

“The Traffic Police already have good information on what had happened. As the accident had sparked off (the rioting), we want to take special care in arriving at our findings,” Mr Ng added. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY NEO CHAI CHIN AND AMANDA LEE

Actions taken against perpetrators

45 arrested

Thirty-five suspects were originally charged in court. Charges were withdrawn against seven suspects after further review. Of these, four were warned and no further action was taken against the rest. Proceedings are ongoing against the other 28 who were “active participants” in the riot. They allegedly committed acts of violence, damaged property, defied police orders or incited others.

Two were released on bail pending further investigations.

Eight were released from police custody after it was found that they were not involved in the riot.

53 to be repatriated

Their involvement in the riot was “less egregious”. They obstructed the police during the incident and did not disperse despite police orders to do so.

200 issued a formal police advisory

They were present at the scene but their involvement was “relatively passive”. They did not participate in the riot and obeyed police orders. No further action will be taken against them. They are allowed to remain and work in Singapore as long as they continue to abide by the law.