Singapore: Twenty-seven South Asian workers, including 24 Indians, were arrested on Monday for alleged rioting in Singapore's worst outbreak of violence in over 40 years even as the Prime Minister warned to use "full force of the law" against trouble-makers.
Besides the Indians, two Bangladeshis and one Singapore permanent resident, whose origin was not known, were also arrested for last night's rioting following a road accident that killed an Indian worker.
At least 18 people, including 10 policemen, were injured when some 400 people attacked the police and damaged 16 vehicles in an Indian district here, police said.
The trouble started after a private bus fatally knocked down an Indian pedestrian, 33-year-old Sakthivel Kuaravelu, around 9:20pm at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road in Little India, a precinct of Indian-origin businesses, eateries and pubs where most of the South Asian workers take their Sunday break, they said.
All the 27 arrested are in the age-group of 23-45 and face charges under "rioting with dangerous weapons".
The Indian High Commission in Singapore said it was calling on all parties to remain calm following the riot. "We understand the situation is under control and Singapore authorities have appealed for maintaining calm by all sections of society. We hope all parties will maintain calm," said the High Commission in a statement.
High Commissioner Vijay Thakur Singh said the High Commission was in constant touch with the Singapore authorities to ascertain the facts of the incidents. Singh said the High Commission would inform the next of kin of Kumaravelu.
The victim, who hailed from Tamil Nadu, was working here as a construction worker with Heng Hup Soon, a scaffolding company, for about two years. His body was not decapitated as reported by some news outlets but he did suffer injuries to his face, The Straits Times reported on Monday.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the riot was a very grave incident and his government would spare no effort to identify the culprits and deal with them with the full force of the law. In a post on his Facebook account early this morning, the Prime Minister also urged all Singaporeans to stay calm.
