KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — Five Malaysians were among the 27 people injured during riots in Singapore’s “Little India” on Sunday night, according to Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.
But Khalid added that none of the five were badly hurt in the rare outbreak of violence in the island state, saying they required only outpatient care.
“It is true, they are Malaysians who were employed as security officers in Singapore,” he was quoted as saying last night in a Berita Harian report today.
Other than the five Malaysians, 22 Singaporean police officers were also reportedly injured after they were attacked by the rioting South Asian nationals. All have since been discharged from the hospital.
The riot erupted late Sunday in tightly-controlled Singapore’s congested Little India district after a 33-year-old Indian worker, Sakthivel Kumaravelu, was run over by a private bus, according to an AFP report.
Police said about 400 people were involved in the rare outbreak of public disorder, adding that 28 South Asian workers had been arrested on charges of rioting, which is punishable by up to seven years in prison as well as caning.
At least five vehicles including three police cars were torched in the violence. The situation was brought under control after elite police commandos arrived at the scene.
Previously, High Commissioner of Malaysia to Singapore Datuk Md Hussin Nayan said he received unconfirmed information that one of the 28 rioters arrested is believed to be a Malaysian.
“So far, only one man believed Malaysians said to hold, but we do not have confirmation from the Singapore government,” he said.
Rioting in Singapore is punishable by up to seven years in prison plus caning.
