29/03/2014

OMG, Another Riot In Singapore!

Update 29 Feb 2020: 13 men arrested for suspected involvement in rioting in Choa Chu Kang
Weapons including a knife, knuckle dusters, a metal bar and a metal rod that were believed to have been used in the fight were seized.PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM ALLSINGAPORESTUFF/ FACEBOOK

Thirteen men, aged between 17 and 28, have been arrested and charged for their suspected involvement in a case of rioting with deadly weapons in Choa Chu Kang.

The police were alerted to a case of rioting at 10 Choa Chu Kang Way on Thursday, at about 2.25pm, it said in a statement on Saturday.

Officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and Jurong Police Division established the identities of the 13 suspects and arrested them within 28 hours at various locations in Jalan Bukit Merah, West Coast Road, Yishun, Bukit Batok and Lower Kent Ridge Road.

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11 foreign workers charged with rioting at Choa Chu Kang construction site

In the second case to occur here in two weeks, 11 workers were charged on Tuesday with rioting, this time at a construction site in Choa Chu Kang.

According to local media, the workers – four Chinese and seven Bangladeshi nationals – are alleged to have been involved in a fight on Sunday afternoon at the construction site for Rainforest Condominium off Choa Chu Kang Avenue 3.

The Chinese men are between 25 and 46 years of age, while the Bangladeshis are aged between 20 and 28. Each of them were charged with being in an unlawful group in which one or more used violence by punching and kicking members of the other nationality. 

related:

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Fights, affrays, riots, brawls – a hint of lawlessness in S’pore?

Here are some recent cases of public altercations just this year alone, involving not just locals but also foreigners. There are many more such incidents over the last few years

Fights, riots, affrays, brawls seem to be a more frequent occurrence in Singapore.

It is disconcerting how often these incidents have been happening. And together with the recent revelation that the Singapore Police Force (SPF) may be understaffed and overworked, one does wonder if it is just Geylang which has a “hint of lawlessness”, as warned by Police Commissioner Ng Joo Hee at the Committee of Inquiry hearing.

Is Singapore itself, in fact, seeing more people taking the law into their own hands? And if so, we should all be concerned. What can be done?

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Second riot in 4 months, 35 arrested

Initially reported as a brawl between some South Asian men, the bust-up which took place at a dormitory for foreign workers in Kaki Bukit Avenue 3 on Tuesday has now been classified as a riot by the police.

The incident is the second riot to have occurred in Singapore in the last 4 months. It was the first riot Singapore had seen in more than 40 years.

Last March, a brawl involving some 50 foreign workers was reported to have taken place in Little India as well. According to a news report, two gangs of foreign workers fought with wooden sticks and metal rods at 9pm, at the open area located near Farrer Park MRT station and Rangoon Road.

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Kaki Bukit dormitory fight classified as rioting
The brawl that broke out among foreign workers at a Kaki Bukit dormitory late on Tuesday night has been classified as rioting, the police said yesterday.
So far, 35 suspects, all from South Asia, have been arrested and 14 of them will be charged in court today with rioting. Another three will be charged with affray. Investigations against the remaining suspects are in progress.
The rioting on Tuesday comes less than four months after a 400-strong mob wreaked havoc in Little India, leaving 43 enforcement officers injured and 24 emergency vehicles damaged.

related: Brawl at Kaki Bukit dorm classified as rioting, 35 arrested

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14 Bangladeshi workers charged with rioting at dormitory

Fourteen Bangladeshi workers who allegedly brawled over a cricket match were yesterday charged with rioting.

The workers, aged between 25 and 38, were among 35 men who were arrested after a fight allegedly took place in a dormitory on Tuesday at Kaki Bukit Avenue 3.

The police said the fight started between two groups during a “live” screening of a cricket match between Bangladesh and the West Indies. The West Indies won.

related: 17 charged after fight at Kaki Bukit dormitory

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Tempers flare as bottle flies


A group of about 100 foreign workers at a Kaki Bukit dormitory were watching a cricket match between West Indies and Bangladesh on Tuesday when things turned ugly.

An Indian worker, believed to have been drinking, apparently threw his empty bottle at a Bangladeshi worker at around 11pm during the ICC World Twenty20 match.

Mr Masum, who claimed to have witnessed the argument between the two men that led to a brawl, told The New Paper: “The Bangladeshi shouted at the Indian guy who threw the bottle."


35 South Asian men arrested for rioting in Kaki Bukit dormitory

A total of 35 South Asian men have been arrested after a fight broke out at a dormitory along Kaki Bukit Avenue 3 on Tuesday night.

The police said in a statement on Thursday that the fight, which was between two groups of dormitory residents, took place during the screening of a live cricket match.

Officers from the Bedok Police Division, Special Operations Command and Police Dog Unit responded to the incident and the situation was quickly contained, said the statement. The police arrested 13 suspects in connection to the riot on the same day, while another 22 suspects were nabbed on Wednesday and Thursday.

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35 Arrested In Kaki Bukit Riots

A total of 35 South Asian men have been arrested this Tuesday night after a fight broke out at a dormitory along Kaki Bukit Avenue 3. The police said in a statement on Thursday that the fight, which was between two groups of dormitory residents, took place during the screening of a live cricket match on Tuesday evening. The match was between Bangladesh and the West Indies, in which the West Indies won.

Officers from the Bedok Police Division, Special Operations Command and Police Dog Unit responded to the incident and the situation was quickly contained, said the statement. The police arrested 13 suspects in connection to the riot on the same day, while another 22 suspects were nabbed on Wednesday and Thursday.

If convicted of rioting, the suspects could face up to seven years in jail. If convicted of affray, suspects could be jailed for up to a year or fined up to $5,000, or both. Police informed that fourteen suspects will go to court this Friday whereas investigations against the other suspects are still going on.

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Another 22 foreign workers arrested for rioting at dormitory in Kaki Bukit



Another 22 men have been arrested for rioting at a foreign workers' dormitory in Kaki Bukit.

This brings the total number of people arrested to 35. The men are believed to be from India and Bangladesh.

Police said the fight took place during the screening of a live cricket match on Tuesday evening.


Police arrest 13 foreign workers in Kaki Bukit dormitory brawl

Thirteen foreign workers were arrested after a brawl broke out late Tuesday night at a dormitory in Kaki Bukit.

Police said they received a call at 11.22pm requesting for assistance.

The men are believed to be from India and Bangladesh, and the fight was apparently sparked by a cricket match.



13 FOREIGN WORKERS ARRESTED AFTER FIGHTING OVER CRICKET MATCH

Thirteen foreign workers from Bangladesh and India were arrested on Tuesday evening after a fight broke out at a foreign worker dormitory in Kaki Bukit.

It is believed that the fight broke out as a result of a cricket match between Bangladesh and the West Indies which was televised that night.

Police explained that they received a call about the fight at about 11:30pm and after taking statements and looking through CCTV footage, they went from room to room conducting searches, asking questions and looking for any other workers with injuries.


Foreign workers rioting over cricket match


Then there’s the question of whether a dormitory may be considered a ‘public place’. If a husband and wife got into a massive quarrel in the wee hours that involves the tossing of hot kettles and frying pans in the kitchen and the whole neighbourhood knows about it, what charge does it come under?

If 5 relatives started body slamming each other in their backyard over inheritance, are they RIOTING? Is there a penalty for, well, just ‘FIGHTING’ wherever you are? After all, you never know when a scuffle may lead to serious harm or death, in the privacy of a bedroom or on the rooftop of a building, with or without ‘dangerous weapons’.

Ironically, free-to-air live cricket matches was one of the suggestions following the Little India riot to keep our workers ‘happy and motivated’. Perhaps Bollywood movies would be a better idea.


7 teens arrested for rioting

2 fights break out almost within an hour, police suspect the same assailants involved in both cases

Police have arrested seven men aged between 17 and 19 for two cases of rioting along Jiak Kim Street and Kim Seng Road on Sunday (March 30). Police said that they responded to a fight along Jaik Kin Street on Sunday at about 3.56am.

They spotted the victim, who was reportedly set upon by a group of suspects who fled after punching and kicking him.


50 foreign workers fought with weapons at Little India
Omy.sg, 23 Mar 2014
两派客工以木棍和铁条为武器,在小印度大打出手,造成约50人混战,共有16名客工被控,其中有14人在日前认罪。
这起殴斗事件发生在去年3月31日晚上9点,地点在花拉公园地铁站“G”出口与仰光路(Rangoon Road)第677座组屋间的空地。 根据法庭文件,涉及案件的有40至50名客工,他们是来自两个敌对派系的成员。Full story

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14 workers from India plead guilty to unlawful assembly leading to fight with poles and rods

Fourteen foreign workers, aged between 21 to 39, pleaded guilty on Thursday to being part of an unlawful assembly in relation to a fight last March in Little India.

Eleven of them were each sentenced to seven months in jail, and the remaining three were dealt an additional week for stealing food and beer from supermarkets.

Mostly construction workers hailing from India, the 14 got into a fight with another group on Mar 31 2013 near the Farrer Park MRT station in an incident the prosecution called "a large scale public order offence".

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Four arrested after brawl in Paya Lebar

Four male foreigners suspected of being involved in a 10-man brawl along Paya Lebar Road have been arrested.

The fight took place on Sunday at 8.44pm, the police said, following a dispute between two groups of people.

The police said that they found a broken wooden plank and fragments of a broken beer bottle at the scene.

FOUR INDIAN "FOREIGN TALENTS" CHARGED WITH RIOTING AT PAYA LEBAR


Four foreign nationals were charged with rioting on Tuesday following a fight near Singapore Post Centre at Paya Lebar. Bedok police seized a broken wooden plank and fragments of a broken beer bottle from the scene. They arrested four men, reports The Straits Times.

Indian nationals Sikander Singh, 27, and Ramandeep Singh, 28, are alleged to have been part of an unlawful assembly with several others and caused hurt to an unknown Bangladeshi.

Two Bangladeshi nationals, Kamrul Hasan Hazi Abul Basar, 28, and Md Rony Sikder Md Ramzan Sikder, 26, were allegedly part of an illegal assembly when one or more of them caused hurt to an unknown Indian subject. All four are remanded at Bedok police division for a week for further investigation.

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Little India COI: Wanted – More lawmen

Another interesting point: the COI raised concern that the presence of large numbers of foreigners, or rather, foreign communities, is itself  troubling. It’s talking about animosity among the communities, not necessarily directed at the “indigenous’’ population. It’s talking about communities bringing their cultures, customs, politics and historical baggage with them. Already, the Little India COI has heard bits and pieces about how the Bangladeshis and Indians don’t quite like each other. You have to wonder about the foreign worker dormitories where hundreds of them live under one roof.

Methinks for us locals, we always look at “troubles’’ among foreign workers as nothing to do with us. So, they fight among themselves. Okay. Just don’t try anything funny with us… I suppose that’s the wrong approach to take. Whatever happens in the dorms might well spill into other dorms – and further afield.

What the CP said about Geylang is troubling.  He actually used the word “lawless’’ to describe the atmosphere that pervades Singapore’s foremost red light district. Besides workers from China, other foreign nationalities also congregate there, an area with a disproportionately high number of crimes (135 compared to Little India’s 83) and public order offences committed (49 compared to 25).  Never mind that 100,000 foreign workers descend on Little India every weekend, going by the statistics, they are a tame nuisance compared to those who throng Geylang’s lorongs with their sale of sex and drugs.

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Meanwhile…in Singapore
  1.  That there is great animosity between the Bangladeshis and the Indians.
  2.  That 80 per cent of the shops are supposedly owned and run by foreigners. Said by a shopkeeper; dunno if it’s a fact.
  3. That there is a place called Kodai Canteen that is real popular among foreign workers because it’s like a beer garden. The owner/operator is taking the stand today.
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Bertha Harian | Daily bites of the news

13 hours ago - It's talking about animosity among the communities, not necessarily .... That there is great animosity between the Bangladeshis and the Indians.


Geylang raid: Crowd threw rocks and bottles at cops

THE four policemen went undercover to look for illegal activities in a Geylang backlane.

But the operation quickly turned ugly when they arrested one person at a makeshift gambling stall.

A crowd of about 200 people gathered around the officers and threw whatever they could lay their hands on, such as beer bottles and glasses, rocks and even rubbish.


NGOs should help to quell violence among workers

It is startling and sad to read that guest workers in Singapore are increasingly exhibiting violent behaviour.

Besides the “14 Bangladeshi workers charged with rioting at dormitory” (March 29), 40 foreign workers were involved in a clash last March near Farrer Park MRT Station. And there was the Little India riot in December.

Most of the million-plus guest workers are law-abiding. We cannot, though, condone even 1 per cent of these workers behaving violently. This must be contained swiftly before more are emboldened to resort to violence.


PM Lee: Singaporeans Commit More Crime than Foreign Workers

PM Lee finally spoke about the Little India Riot. For the benefit of the non Chinese, I'll transcribe the interview aired by the news yesterday as accurately as I can. I'm not proficient in my Mandarin so correct me if I was wrong.
"We should not generalise a group because of some individuals. I don't think that is fair or justifiable because their (foreign workers) crime rates are, in fact, lower than Singaporeans in general."
Word for word, it seems pretty clear cut for me the point our Prime Minister was trying to put across. The published statistics on crime rates in Singapore do not provide any breakdown of the data by demographics, so there is no way to verify PM Lee's claims. We wouldn't know if PM Lee was referring to the total crime counts, crimes committed per 1000 people, types of crimes etc. That is the problem when we do not have free information rightful available to the public. So those who have access to it can say anything they want and for those without, sued for doing so.

No, I am not being defensive because I am a Singaporean and my Prime Minister just told the world that my people commits more crimes than foreign workers. While we are on the topic of generalising and being fair, let's add in rationality and common sense as well. In Singapore, we have a wide array of activities defined as crimes, such as littering, chewing a gum or peeing in the lift. These crimes would be regarded as anti-social acts in most countries. Let's just call these petty crimes for illustration purposes.

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