SINGAPORE — Fifty-three people involved in the Little India Riot on Dec 8 have been repatriated and will not be allowed to enter Singapore again, the police said in a statement today (Dec 20).

Four more persons — who were previously charged in court but had their charges withdrawn by the prosecution — are expected to be repatriated to India later tonight after being issued with stern police warnings.

The full statement is as follows:

You will remember from Tuesday’s press conference that we have categorised the persons involved in the riot of 8 Dec in Little India into three groups.

Group One — Charged

The first group is made up of persons, who based on police investigations, were found to be actively involved in the violence, and who had damaged property, defied police orders or incited others to do so. These individuals have been formally charged in court and are currently in remand.

Group Two — Repatriated

In comparison, persons in Group Two have not been charged in court as their involvement, based on our evidence, was assessed to be less egregious. They had knowingly joined or continued to participate in the riot, after being ordered to disperse, or had impeded riot control and emergency rescue operations.

There are 53 persons in this second group and they were brought in by the police in an early morning operation on Tuesday.

I can report that all 53 have been repatriated to their home countries after receiving stern police warnings and being served with immigration removal orders. They will not be allowed to enter Singapore again.

On Tuesday, I informed the media that seven persons who were previously charged in court had their charges withdrawn by the prosecution. Of these seven, four have been issued with stern police warnings. These four have also been served with immigration removal orders and are expected to be repatriated to India later tonight. The four of them enjoyed full access to consular assistance, and were also seen by members of the Committee of Inquiry.

When the last of these are removed, bringing the total number of repatriated to 57, the repatriation operation arising from police investigations into the Little India riots will, more or less, come to an end.

Group Three — Police advice

There is a third group of individuals who were involved in the rioting. These are the around 200 who were called up by the police to assist in investigations. Although they were physically present at the location of the riot, we are satisfied that their involvement has been passive and incidental.

These 200 odd persons will be issued with formal police advisories this coming Sunday, at the Police Cantonment Complex, starting at 10am.

Today and tomorrow, police will notify the employers of persons in this third group to present their respective employees to the CID on Sunday to be formally advised.

I want to make clear that this third group will neither be further detained nor repatriated. They will be allowed to stay on in Singapore and to continue with their employment, but they must not come to adverse notice again.

Activities in Worker Dorms

This and the coming weekends and public holidays, operators of major dormitories which house guest workers wil continue to put on a variety of activities in their premises for the benefit f their lodgers. More movie screenings, flea markets, sport competitions and other social and recreational activites can be expected to be organised in the various dormitories all over the island.

Reminder on Drinking Ban

Lastly, I want to repeat and remind everyone of the restriction order on the sale and consumption of alcohol in Little India that will come into force this weekend under powers given to me as Commissioner of Police by the Public Order (Preservation) Act.

Specifically, there shall be no drinking of alcohol in any public place within the proclaimed area during weekends, public holidays and eve of public holidays. The retail and wholesale of alcohol shall cease at 8pm. Public houses and beer houses will be allowed to sell the various types of alcohol as permitted by their licenses, but consumption must be within their premises during the permitted licensing hours.

The proclaimed area is well demarcated with posters and police notices. Police officers will be present to enforce the Order, and will act resolutely should they come across breaches and violations.