Little India riot COI: Videos show accident victim’s final moments, start of riot
A public hearing into what happened during Singapore’s first riot in more than 40 years began at the Subordinate Courts on Wednesday morning.
The riot, involving over 300 people, took place in Little India on the night of 8 December 2013.
So far, a four-man Committee of Inquiry (COI), chaired by former Supreme Court judge G. Pannir Selvam, has heard and seen video evidence that the Indian worker whose death sparked off the riot, Sakthivelu Kumaravelu, was not "manhandled or thrust off" a bus he was on. This was theorised by some foreign media, said senior state counsel David Khoo in his opening statement.
He also revealed details on how the riot unfolded.
Khoo said that shortly before the bus was due to depart Little India, a worker informed the bus’ timekeeper, Wong Geck Woon, that 33-year-old Sakthivelu appeared to be drunk and that he had pulled down his bermudas.
A pathologist and toxicologist later revealed during the hearing that they found the presence of 217mg/100ml of ethanol in his post-mortem sample of blood.
The pathologist stated that, at that level, an average individual can be expected to be moderately to severely intoxicated.
The side effects of such would include an inability to walk in a straight line, more risk-taking behaviour, slower reflexes and delayed reaction time.
Video footage played at the hearing, which will not be released publicly due to sensitivity issues, showed Sakthivelu alighting voluntarily after Wong asked him to do so.
A separate video revealed the worker walking and thereafter running alongside the bus as it departed and moved along Tekka Lane.
Moments later, the deceased was shown being run over after falling directly onto the path of the front left wheel of the bus.
According to a scientist, at one point, the deceased’s right hand came in contact with the side of the bus.
The forensic scientist added that the deceased was in the driver’s blind spot when he fell, but would have still been captured by the bus’ CCTVs.
The pathologist said the deceased died instantaneously.
It was also revealed that the bus driver, Lee Kim Huat, stopped the bus immediately upon impact and the discovery of the deceased pinned beneath a wheel.
Subsequently, Lee and all the passengers got off the bus. Wong, who was stationed at another point along Tekka Lane and notified of the accident, also proceeded to the scene.
Beginning of riot
Based on oral evidence and CCTV footage, a crowd of bystanders composed mainly of male South Asian subjects began shouting at Wong and Lee, Khoo said.
A clip presented at the hearing showed the members of the crowd waving fingers at the two and hitting the bus before a Good Samaritan intervened and helped the bus personnel get back on the bus and close its doors.
Following that, the crowd could be seen hurling projectiles at the bus, causing the glass door and windows to break.
Khoo also revealed that by the time the first responders arrived at the scene, a crowd of approximately 100 rowdy people had surrounded the bus.
He added that the wrath of the crowd was only unleashed on uniformed officers and government vehicles after the extrication of the deceased and the rescue of Lee and Wong.
Fifty-four first responders from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were injured while over S$650,000 worth of damage was inflicted on government vehicles and equipment at the scene.
Lee, Wong, a bus passenger and deputy police commissioner T Raja Kumar are expected to take the stand on Thursday.
Fact-finding inquiry
In his opening remarks, Khoo also said that although the proceedings will take place in a courtroom, "they are not court proceedings where determination of guilt or legal liability will be made in an adversarial setting”.
The focus of the inquiry is instead on fact-finding, he maintained.
Testimonies from 117 witnesses will be heard over at least four weeks.
The state counsel said the Attorney- General's Chambers (AGC) will provide evidence that establishes how the riot unfolded and how the responding ground forces managed the incident.
Witnesses will include individuals involved in the traffic accident as well as first responders from the SPF and SCDF.
Next, the inquiry will focus on evidence establishing the facts and circumstances that led to the riot.
Khoo pointed out that while many have attributed the incident to the ill-effects of alcohol and others to the mistreatment of workers; it is entirely possible that the incident could be attributable to a combination of factors rather than a single factor.
Witnesses will also include shopkeepers, foreign workers and residents in Little India and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
AGC will also present evidence from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and representatives of the various transport services to explore the issue of overcrowding in Little India and the problems arising from it.
Geylang as an area of concern
In the course of the inquiry, the committee will also consider whether current measures to manage such incidents in areas where foreign workers congregate are adequate and recommend any further measures to improve their management and reduce the risk of such incidents recurring.
In this regard, Geylang has been identified as an area of concern, there being similarities and parallels between policing issues encountered in Little India and Geylang.
Deputy Prime Minister, Home Affairs Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean appointed a COI to look into the riot at Little India on 13 December last year.
Narcotics officer Adam bin Fashe Huddin and his supporting team from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB), a neutral party to the incident, were appointed as the investigating team.
The COI will submit its report to the Minister of Home Affairs within six months of the inquiry.
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