The otherwise peaceful city-state of Singapore saw one of the worst riots in 40 years when a crowd of south Asian workers clashed with police and set fire to vehicles in the country’s Little India district.
Little India houses Indian-origin businesses and eateries and usually remains crowded on Sundays, attracting construction workers from Bangladesh and India where they shop, eat, drink and spend time together.
Reportedly the riots started after a bus hit 33-year-old Indian construction worker in the Little India area. Videos posted by media outlets showed a crowd of people smashing the windscreen of the bus while the victim remained trapped under the vehicle.
Media footage showed police cars being flipped over and several vehicles on fire which included an ambulance, three police cars and a motorbike.
Reportedly the violence started after the bus accident. However, the police managed to control the unrest within an hour.
“At least 18 people were hurt, most of them police officers, before the violence was brought under control,” the BBC reported.
The Singapore Police arrested at least 27 people, mostly of South Asian origin and more arrests are expected in coming days, according to reports. The administration positioned about 300 officers on to the streets to quell the riot.
Singapore, one of the wealthiest nation in the world relies heavily on guest workers, with labourers from South Asia dominating the construction, transport and other sectors.
The riots reportedly caused a lot of dismay among citizens as the city-state prides itself on its social order and racial harmony.
Reportedly, Sunday’s hour-long violence marked the first riot in Singapore since racial disturbances in 1969. Since then, the government has imposed strict controls on protests.
According to reports, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong posted on his Facebook page that “the 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.”
The incident reportedly sparked online racial comments on foreign workers, whose large presence manifests simmering unease among residents wary of huge influx of foreign migrant workers in recent years.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “the unrest points to a growing challenge for policy makers trying to maintain social cohesion and curb anti-foreigner sentiment amid festering tensions among its large migrant workforce.”
“About a quarter of the country’s 5.4 million people are transient workers, compared to a tenth in 1990, according to government statistics,” the Washington Post reported.