bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Singapore on Friday said it had deported 53 South Asian workers allegedly involved in the city-state’s first riot in four decades, while four others awaited repatriation later in the day.
Officials on Tuesday had said they were deporting the 53 men – 52 Indians and one Bangladeshi – and pursuing criminal charges against 28 others for their role in the December 8 rampage.
The rare riot left 39 persons, including police officers, injured and 25 vehicles damaged or burnt.
It was triggered after an Indian construction worker was fatally hit by a bus in a district known as Little India, where tens of thousands of South Asian labourers converge on weekends.
In a statement on Friday evening, police commissioner Ng Joo Hee said the 53 men originally slated for deportation had already been sent to their home countries after receiving police warnings and immigration removal orders.
Four other Indian nationals who were released on Tuesday after criminal charges were withdrawn will also be repatriated on Friday after being served with police warnings, Ng said.
No reasons were given for the decision to deport the four additional men after their release from police custody.
“When the last of these four are removed, bringing the total number repatriated to 57, the repatriation operation arising from police investigations into the Little India riots will, more or less, come to an end,” Ng said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier stated that the men being deported were deemed to have threatened public order for failing to disperse despite police orders.
The 28 Indian nationals currently remanded in police custody and facing rioting charges were judged to have been active participants in the riot.
About 200 others will be handed “police advisories” after investigations showed they were at the scene of the riot but were “relatively passive”.
The mass repatriation comes as international rights groups including Humans Rights Watch and Amnesty International accused the government this week of arbitrarily deporting people without due process, in its haste to punish the alleged rioters.
The government maintains that it has legal powers to repatriate foreigners deemed a threat to public security.
In December last year, 29 Chinese bus drivers were deported for their involvement in a work stoppage for better wages and living conditions – the first industrial strike in the city-state since 1986.
Five others served jail terms after the strike was declared illegal.


Singapore deports South Asian workers involved in riot 

An Immigration and Customs Authority van, transporting arrested foreign workers, leaves Admiralty West Prison in Singapore. Photo: AFP

Migrants’ rights under spotlight in Singapore after Little India riot

A man gestures behind a tribute board for Sakthivel Kumaravelu, an Indian national who was killed when he was struck by a bus, sparking a riot in the Little India district of Singapore. Photo: EPA

Police cars were overturned and set on fire during the riot in Little India, Singapore's first in four decades. Photo: EPA

Arrested migrant workers. Photo: AFP

More than 50 migrant workers will be deported and the city state is pursuing charges against 28 others. Photo: EPA

Mohamed Juwel is unable to work. Photo: Satish Cheney

Singapore bans drinking in Little India riot zone 

A ban on sales of alcohol, seen as a contributory factor in last Sunday's riot, will come into force in Little India this weekend. Photo: EPA

Thousands questioned in widening crackdown after Singapore riot 

Singaporeans pass by a memorial for the deceased migrant worker Sakthivel Kumaravelu at Singapore's Race Course Road, on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

Singapore charges 24 Indian workers for rioting 

A group of Indian nationals, who allegedly took part in Singapore's first riot for over 40 years, arrive in a police van at the Subordinate courts to be charged. Photo: AFP

Policemen from the Special Command Operation patrol the streets in Little India on Monday, following a riot by South Asian workers on Sunday. Photo: AFP 

Lee Hsien Loong orders inquiry after Singapore's first riot in four decades

Riot police stand guard as a vehicle goes up in flames after the riot broke out in the Little India district.

Police cars are damaged during the riots. Photo: AP

A man is led away by police after rioting that left 16 police cars damaged. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Singapore deports 53 South Asian workers involved in city-state’s first riot in four decades


Singapore deports South Asian workers involved in riot

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Singapore deports 53 South Asian workers involved in city-state’s first riot in four decades

Singapore deports 53 South Asian workers involved in city-state’s first riot in four decades