Dozens arrested after rare Singapore riots

(France24) Singapore's streets were littered with burnt cars on Monday after hundreds of South Asian workers rioted in the island nation's worst unrest in more than 40 years. The riot began after a 33-year-old Indian worker was hit and killed by a private bus.

Burnt cars littered the streets of Singapore on Monday after hundreds of South Asian workers rioted following a fatal road accident in the city-state's Little India district.

The riot – the island nation's worst outbreak of violence in more than 40 years – erupted late Sunday after a 33-year-old Indian worker was hit and killed by a private bus.

Police said about 400 people were involved in the rare outbreak of public disorder and that 27 workers had been arrested on rioting charges, which carry a possible sentence of up to seven years in prison as well as caning.

At least five vehicles, including three police cars, were torched in the violence before the situation was brought under control by police commandos.

"Whatever events may have sparked the rioting, there is no excuse for such violent, destructive, and criminal behaviour," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a statement.


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