This Article is From Dec 10, 2013

24 Indians arrested for riot in Singapore produced before court: 10 developments

24 Indians arrested for riot in Singapore produced before court: 10 developments
Singapore: 24 Indians who were arrested in Singapore yesterday on charges of rioting in the Little India part of the country were produced before a court today. They face charges punishable by up to seven years in prison as well as caning.

Here are the 10 big developments in this story

  1. The violence took place late on Sunday when a crowd of around 400 people set fire to vehicles and clashed with police after a 33-year-old Indian man was killed by a bus.

  2. Several videos posted online showed a crowd of people smashing the windscreen of the bus while the victim remained trapped under the vehicle. Many even hurled bottles and chairs at the police rescue team present at the site.

  3. 28 South Asian workers were arrested for the violence. Four of them were later released after investigations found no evidence against them.

  4. At least 18 people, including 10 policemen, were injured in the first major riot in the city-state in more than 40 years. About 300 officers were sent on to the streets to quell the riot.

  5. In the wake of the violence, sale and consumption of alcohol has been banned in the area over the coming weekend. A precinct of Indian-origin businesses and eateries, Little India is usually packed with people on Sundays, with many construction workers from Bangladesh and India gathering there to spend their day off.

  6. Announcing the ban yesterday, Second Minister for Home Affairs S Iswaran said the step has been taken to stabilise the situation as it is "plausible that alcohol consumption was a contributory factor."

  7. Local media reports say the man who died was drunk when he forcefully boarded the bus and was told to get off when he misbehaved.

  8. The driver of the bus, that was to ferry the workers including the man who died to their dormitory, was allegedly pelted with stones by the mob. The 55-year old has suffered multiple injuries, his daughter was quoted as saying by local media.

  9. The violence followed recent signs of tensions between the country's citizens and the growing numbers of migrant workers.

  10. In a posting on his Facebook page, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reminded Singaporeans that "the vast majority of foreign workers here obey our laws. We must not let this bad incident tarnish our views of workers here. Nor should we condone hateful or xenophobic comments, especially online." He also ordered a probe into the incident.



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