Public hearing on Little India riot to begin on Feb 19

The public hearing into the worst riots in Singapore in 40 years at Little India, a precinct of Indian-origin businesses, will begin on February 19.
The state-appointed Committee of Inquiry (COI) on the December 8 riot will start the hearings at the Subordinate Courts. It intends to call at least 70 witnesses, an official statement said.
Some of the key witnesses who would be called to give evidence include the driver and time-keeper of the bus involved in the fatal accident, which sparked the riot.
The riot saw some 400 migrant workers from South Asia going berserk after an Indian national was killed in the accident.

The riot left 43 officers injured and 24 vehicles damaged.
The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) would lead the evidence at the hearing, estimated to last for at least four weeks, covering all aspects of the riot and foreign workers in Singapore.

The COI secretariat said investigators from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) have interviewed and taken statements of about 300 witnesses.
The committee has also visited the scene of the violence and sought the views of migrant workers on issues relating to the riot, including their living conditions.
The COI, upon the conclusion of the hearing, would consider the evidence presented, and submit a report to the Minister for Home Affairs.

An Indian has since been jailed while another would plead guilty on Monday. Twenty three others are awaiting trial to riot charges.
Following the incident, Singapore has deported 52 Indians and one Bangladeshi worker for their involvement in the riot.
Singapore previously witnessed violence of such scale during race riots in 1969.