Little India Riot: Like it never happened

On the afternoon of 9 Dec, all shops along Race Course Rd were opened as normal.  

The normalcy and calm around the Race Course Rd/Chander Rd/Rotan Ln/Kerbau Rd betrayed the blood and fire that erupted there last night. I was there for lunch today and it was like Singapore's first riot in more than 40 years did not happen here last night, but it did. Sakthivel Kumaravelu did not die here last night, but he did. It was like police and SCDF vehicles were not overturned and burnt to ashes, but they did. 

It was almost as if the news agencies, youtube and twitter just brought us on a whirlwind social media dream. And brought us back again the next day.

Local Chinese and Indians together with foreign workers from India and Bangladesh were going about their normal business. Tourists walking around with their maps shielded from the underlying tensions. Other than the patrol car driving passed me at Kerbau Rd, there wasn't much police presence although I am sure plain-clothes detectives are hanging around the coffeeshops and Tekka market. The only thing that reminded of last night's violence was the media crawling around the area interview shopkeepers and residents. 

Kerbau Road on the afternoon of 9 Dec 13

Kerbau Rd on the night of 8 Dec 13

Junction of Race Course Rd and Rotan Ln on the afternoon of 9 Dec 13

Race Course Rd and Rotan Ln on night of 8 Dec 13

At the place where I had lunch, which was on the main Serangoon Rd just two blocks away from the riot, the boss there said he didn't know much details because the security cordon was quite tight to prevent the riot from spreading. Spoke to another shopkeeper while buying a drink on Race Course and he gladly announced "Don't worry boss, that one yesterday, now is today." 

But yesterday, the life of 33-year-old Indian national Sakthivel Kumaravelu ended last night in a drunkard fury. He may have a wife and family back home. They lost a father, husband and a son. For the parents and loved ones of the 10 police officers and 4 SCDF officers, they could have lost a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife. 

News report have now surfaced that Sakthivel was drunk and creating trouble on board of the bus which was supposed to bring him back to his dormitory. When the crowd turned violent, police officers formed a shield around the SCDF guys so that they could extract the limp body that was pinned down by the bus. We await if the bus driver was negligent and caused this untimely death  (male Singaporean driver has been arrested) while continuing to be baffled by the act of attacking medical personnel who were there to help. 

As the streets return to normal, suspects are still being rounded up. Besides the 27 arrested at the scene, at another two dozens men have been arrested at their dormitory this afternoon for possible involvement in the riots. Who knows what cruel fate awaits them after a night of alcohol-infused merry-making...

And as usual, PAP goes into knee-jerk mode by announcing that there will be a ban of the sale and consumption of alcohol at the riot site this weekend.