Cars burn as riot rocks Singapore’s Little India

Firemen douse a charred ambulance after a riot broke out in Singapore in the early hours of Dec. 9, 2013. A riot broke out among South Asian workers in Singapore late in the night of Dec. 8, damaging police cars and other vehicles in the city state’s Little India district, eyewitnesses and local media said. AFP PHOTO/ROSLAN RAHMAN

SINGAPORE—Hundreds of South Asian workers staged a riot in Singapore late Sunday night following a road accident, leaving 10 police officers injured and at least six vehicles damaged, police said.

A police statement said the disturbance started in the congested Little India district when a Bangladeshi worker was killed after being hit by a bus. The victim’s identity was not immediately disclosed.

About 400 people on the scene began attacking police vehicles after officers responded to the accident.

Pictures and videos on social media showed at least two vehicles including an ambulance on fire, while two police vehicles were seen being overturned by a cheering mob.

Police said several private vehicles were also damaged in the fracas.

Channel News Asia also showed dramatic pictures of burning vehicles and people attacking the windshield of a bus with sticks and garbage bins.

Rubbish and broken bottles

A witness, Dharmendra Yadav, told Channel News Asia that at least two vehicles were on fire, and that rubbish and broken bottles were strewn on the streets. He said he and many others were in a nearby Hindu temple attending a wedding when temple officials received a call from the police asking that the gates be locked and the guests stay inside until given clearance by the police.

He said a short while later he heard a commotion in the street and bottles being thrown. “We heard explosions. We also heard warnings from riot police,” he said.

Channel News Asia said the riot apparently started after a Bangladeshi worker was hit by a bus and killed. This could not be independently confirmed.

The situation was brought under control after the elite Special Operations Command and Gurkhas working for the police arrived on the scene.

The rare outbreak of public disorder in strictly governed Singapore took place in an area normally packed with thousands of workers from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal on their day off.

Teo Chee Hean, the deputy prime minister and minister of home affairs, said in a statement that “this is a serious incident which has resulted in injuries and damage to public property.”

“The situation is now under control. Police will spare no efforts to apprehend the subjects involved in the riot.”

Labor-short Singapore depends heavily on imported labor, with workers from South Asia dominating sectors like construction.

Many congregate in Little India on Sundays to shop, dine and drink.