Committee Of Inquiry LIR Archives

Officers can't recognise man they arrested in Little India

9 April 2014 by andrewlow

“I’m not able to recognise the accused now, as my encounter with him then was brief.” Those were the words of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), N. Subramaniam, in court on Tuesday at the trial of construction worker, Mahalingam Thavamani, 27. Mr Mahalingam, who was originally charged for rioting, had this downgraded to obstruction of … Read more

You made the problem worse: COI to ground commander

5 March 2014 by andrewlow

By Andrew Loh
It was undoubtedly the most adversarial session the Committee of Inquiry (COI) has had since it started its hearings last Wednesday into the Little India riot.
On the stand for four hours on Tuesday, 4 March, was Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) of Police, Lu Yeow Lim, the ground commander of police forces on 8 December 2013 as the riot in Race Course Road unfolded.
The 4-men COI, led by former judge GP Selvam, launched into an attack on the slate of decisions made by DAC Lu that night which, the COI said, “made the problem worse.”

More police resources could have prevented escalation of violence

2 March 2014 by andrewlow

By Terry Xu / Andrew Loh Lt Tiffany Neo of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was on her 24-hour shift at the Central Fire Station on 8 December 2013 when she was informed of the traffic accident that had taken place in Little India. Upon receiving the dispatch order at 9.25pm, her team of … Read more

Rioters’ intent was not to “kill us”: police officer

27 February 2014 by andrewlow

By Andrew Loh
When rescuers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived at the scene in Little India, what they saw were an angry crowd and foreign nationals pelting the bus with whatever they could find.
Still, the SCDF officers had a job to do – to extricate Indian national, Sakthivel Kumaravelu, from under the wheels of the bus which had run him over just minutes earlier.
In order to do so, the officers used a hydraulic jack to raise the bus as other police officers provided cover for them from the projectiles being hurled in their direction by the angry mob.

The officer who wanted to instil law and order

27 February 2014 by andrewlow

By Terry Xu
The Committee of Inquiry (COI) listened intently to Traffic Police Officer, Fadli Shaifuddin Mohamed Sani, on how he charged at the rioters, not once but three times during the riot in Little India last December.
A police officer for three and a half years, Sgt Fadli was on his normal shift on 8^th Dec 2013 when he and his colleague, Corporal Ng Chin Heng were informed of a fatal traffic accident at Race Course Road.
When he arrived at the scene, he saw beer bottles being thrown from both sides of the street and onto the road. A group of rioters was stationed just outside the Little India MRT station.