Singapore bans drinking in Little India riot zone
Vendors will be banned from selling alcohol in Little India from Saturday morning to early Monday
Singapore on Thursday banned alcohol sales and consumption this weekend in a district where South Asian workers staged the city-state’s first riot in more than 40 years.
Banning vendors from selling alcohol in a district known as Little India from Saturday morning to early Monday, the Singapore Police Force declared the zone a “proclaimed area” under the Public Order Preservation Act.
The provision allows law enforcers to take action against anyone who consumes alcohol in the district, where some 400 South Asian workers went on a rampage that left 39 persons including police officers injured and 25 vehicles damaged or burnt last Sunday.
Local residents, shopkeepers and government ministers have said that alcohol may have been a contributory factor that triggered the riot.
“The suspension of alcohol sales and consumption is necessary to calm and stabilise the situation at Little India following last Sunday’s riot and to prevent further public order incidents from occurring,” the police said in a statement.
Thirty-one Indian nationals have so far been charged with rioting for their involvement and face up to seven years in jail and caning.
The riot erupted after an Indian construction worker was struck and killed by a private bus in the district, where migrant workers from South Asia usually congregate on Sunday by the tens of thousands to shop, dine and drink.