SINGAPORE RIOT: Malaysian detained, Indian worker killed was drunk & even dropped his PANTS - cops

KUALA LUMPUR/ SINGAPORE - Malaysia's foreign affairs ministry has confirmed that one Malaysian has been detained for suspected involvement in Sunday's shock riot at Singapore's Little India.

Five other Malaysians working as auxiliary cops and helping the Singapore police control the 400-strong mob were injured that night.

"The five Malaysians are working with three major security firms employed by the government of Singapore to assist the Singapore police in its operation," the Wisma Putra statement said.

But apart from saying the injuries suffered were minor, there was no other information forthcoming from the Malaysian authority.The same goes for its counterpart across the causeway.

While Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has been quick to take responsibility, acknowledging the riot was "very serious" and deserving of a full inquiry, his government has been tight-lipped about what triggered the sudden violence, unseen for decades in 'squeaky-clean' Singapore.

Rumors go into overdrive

But instead of deterring speculation, the rumor mill has gone into overdrive.

For quite a while now, Singaporeans have minced no words about their unhappiness to share their wonderful first-world facilities with their less privileged foreign labor. Many openly show their contempt for the hundreds of thousands of blue-collar workers on their beloved island.

Rude names, rude descriptions and dark warnings about how the government's reliance on foreign labor would one day drag down their republic have abounded for years and intensifying at a frightening pace.

So have things come to a head? Was what happened last Sunday a show of pent-up frustration by the foreign workers? Or was it the bus driver, who is a Singapore citizen, or the police to blame?

Special Operations Command Troopers in the thick of the action

Usual Sunday, no hint of any trouble

In any case, those who know Singapore's Little India well, will know the usual weekend grind there.

From where the Bugis section ends right down to Farrer Road where the amazing Mustafa shopping centre is located, the whole area is always teeming with bus loads of foreign workers ferried there to do their weekly shopping. They are mostly of Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistan origin.

According to The New Paper, last weekend was no different. It started like any ordinary Sunday evening for 33-year-old Indian national Sakthivel Kumaravelu: a trip to Little India for dinner and drinks with friends.

But, by the end of the night, the scaffolding-company worker was pinned under a bus, his death sparking off Singapore's worst riot in decades.

On Monday, police revealed that he was drunk when he attempted to board an already-full chartered bus to his Jurong dorm. He even dropped his trousers.

Forced off the vehicle, he wandered off and was later knocked down. The driver has since been arrested for causing death by a negligent act.

Were the police overzealous or was the crowd spoiling for a fight?

But just how the accident turned into a violent riot remains a mystery. At first, the anger was directed at the bus staff. Then, its focus shifted to police and rescue officers, 34 of whom were injured while 16 police cars were damaged.

Did the crowd take offence at being asked to keep their distance while the officers tried to do their job, as some speculated online?

A police spokesman said extricating the body was made "extremely difficult" as the crowd had become "boisterous".

A committee of inquiry will be convened to get to the bottom of the matter, promised Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday. It will look into the factors that contributed to this "very serious incident" and how it was handled on the ground.

Why? For 'nothing' a blot on Singapore's 'perfect' record!

Many are attempting to make sense of the situation.

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, who is the MP for the area, said that, based on what he observed on Sunday night as some who were taken into custody, "alcohol could have been a contributory factor".

He noted that beer bottles and cans were among the objects hurled at vehicles during the riot.

So far, 27 people have been arrested. The riot was put down within an hour of the first call made to the police. - Malaysia Chronicle