24 Indians brought to court to face rioting charges in Singapore

Twenty-four Indians allegedly involved in Singapore's worst outbreak of violence in over 40 years were today brought to a court here to face charges.

As many as 28 South Asian workers, including 24 Indians, were arrested yesterday for alleged rioting in the country on Sunday. All the accused face charges under "rioting with dangerous weapons", punishable by up to seven years in prison as well as caning.

Meanwhile, Singapore police have released two Bangladeshis after investigations showed they were not involved in the riot. The other two are an Indian national and a Singapore permanent resident. This means those who are likely to face charges of rioting this afternoon are all Indian nationals, Strait Times reported.

The trouble started after a private bus fatally knocked down an Indian pedestrian, 33-year-old Sakthivel Kuaravelu, around 9:20pm at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road in Little India, a precinct of Indian-origin businesses, eateries and pubs where most of the South Asian workers take their Sunday break, police said.

At least 18 people, including 10 policemen, were injured when some 400 people attacked the police and damaged 16 vehicles in an Indian district here, they said.