It was unbelievable to see the headline, “400 people riot in Little India” (Dec 9). After all, this is Singapore, and the behaviour of these rioters was one of mass gangsterism and hooliganism.

A small country like Singapore needs peace and stability to guarantee security. Such an outburst, a consequence of a rowdy crowd mixed with a cocktail of alcohol and herd instinct, is unacceptable and can hurt our international reputation as a safe place to live, work or visit.

What is most upsetting is that the rioters attacked the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel helping the injured, as well as set fire to an ambulance and police cars. I hope that the culprits, particularly the ringleaders, will not be spared the full severity of the law, to send a message that such behaviour is not tolerated here.

In places such as Little India, where male foreign workers congregate on their rest days, there needs to be heightened security surveillance, as well as more patrols and cameras to avoid a similar occurrence in future, considering especially that it took more than two hours to bring Sunday’s situation under control.