The comedy of erros by Police in Little India riot as told to COI

[Confuseous]

Poor Mr Raja Kumar. He was acting Commissioner at the time of the Little India riot and probably wished his boss was around then. He should have been dressed in riot gear when he faced the COI yesterday to shield himself against the missiles thrown his way.

Actually, his main defence was that major crimes in Little India had come down, although jay-walking went up. The SOC was short-handed and there were plenty of places it had to also “cover’’. Nevertheless, the SOC had been deployed 16 times on anti-crime patrols in Little India last year.

So he was quizzed about why the SOC took so long – more than an hour from the call for help – to get to the scene. Here’s what happened: The top officer who took the call for help wanted to do “due diligence’’ because the information was “sketchy’’ and wanted to speak to someone on the ground. That was why the decision to deploy took about 18 minutes, which could be “abbreviated’’, as Mr Raja Kumar said.

Here’s one interesting bit that only The New Paper had:

One SOC troop was at City Hall patrolling when the call arrived. It made its way to Bukit Timah Road and was about to turn into Race Course Road when it was given orders to turn around and regroup at Hampshire Road. It made a U-turn at Sim Lim Square, went back up Bukit Timah and ran headlong into a jam at Kampong Java. Some of vehicles were then told to break off and make their way back down Bukit Timah Road, that is, the original route. This comedy was reported in The New Paper with a useful map. The call to “re-group’’ appeared to have cost 10 minutes of time….

- http://berthahenson.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/an-abbreviated-version-of-the-little-india-coi/

 

[chonburifc]

Sack all. I mean all. Do mata also do until so sia suay. Next time who scare mata. Got guns for fuck? You all think It's really 善良的抢?

 

[ChenHaoNan]

No matter how many times I see the video of the mata running for cover ...I still find it damn funny... Like a real life tom and Jerry cartoon.

 

[laksaboy]

No matter how many times I see the video of the mata running for cover ...I still find it damn funny... Like a real life tom and Jerry cartoon.

It's even better when remixed with music.

[video=youtube;ztm4MKnwgzg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztm4MKnwgzg[/video]

 

[presby]

Like Keystone Cops. Real comedy

 

[presby]

 

[halsey02]

Sack all. I mean all. Do mata also do until so sia suay. Next time who scare mata. Got guns for fuck? You all think It's really 善良的抢?

Sack?? all these are talents....they will be promoted & given, 1 piece of mango cake each, letter of commendation for showing restrain & 1 month extra bonus....

 

[Annunaki]

Farmers will take the rap....scholars will continue to be sheltered ...this is the fucking state of affairs in sinkieland.

 

[steffychun]

Poor Mr Raja Kumar. He was acting Commissioner at the time of the Little India riot and probably wished his boss was around then. He should have been dressed in riot gear when he faced the COI yesterday to shield himself against the missiles thrown his way.

Actually, his main defence was that major crimes in Little India had come down, although jay-walking went up. The SOC was short-handed and there were plenty of places it had to also “cover’’. Nevertheless, the SOC had been deployed 16 times on anti-crime patrols in Little India last year.

So he was quizzed about why the SOC took so long – more than an hour from the call for help – to get to the scene. Here’s what happened: The top officer who took the call for help wanted to do “due diligence’’ because the information was “sketchy’’ and wanted to speak to someone on the ground. That was why the decision to deploy took about 18 minutes, which could be “abbreviated’’, as Mr Raja Kumar said.

Here’s one interesting bit that only The New Paper had:

One SOC troop was at City Hall patrolling when the call arrived. It made its way to Bukit Timah Road and was about to turn into Race Course Road when it was given orders to turn around and regroup at Hampshire Road. It made a U-turn at Sim Lim Square, went back up Bukit Timah and ran headlong into a jam at Kampong Java. Some of vehicles were then told to break off and make their way back down Bukit Timah Road, that is, the original route. This comedy was reported in The New Paper with a useful map. The call to “re-group’’ appeared to have cost 10 minutes of time….

- http://berthahenson.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/an-abbreviated-version-of-the-little-india-coi/

Kekan pusang! Kekiri pusang! Keblan pusang!

Apologies for my lousy Malay commands.

 

[winnipegjets]

The Home Affairs Minister gets off scot-free. Isn't he overall responsible? Where is the accountability?

 

[I_Hate_Pappies]

It's even better when remixed with music.

A poster with the wordings of "Better Future" behind a ruined vehicle at 2:01.

 

[steffychun]

The Home Affairs Minister gets off scot-free. Isn't he overall responsible? Where is the accountability?

getting his pay rise.

 

[blindswordsman]

No matter how many times I see the video of the mata running for cover ...I still find it damn funny... Like a real life tom and Jerry cartoon.

A sad day indeed in the history of this country; its police force was unable to put down a riot by ah nehs who did not even have weapons of mass destruction except bottles and other projectiles while the police were armed with guns. It is indeed an incredible episode of ball-less law enforcement.

 

[steffychun]

A sad day indeed in the history of this country; its police force was unable to put down a riot by ah nehs who did not even have weapons of mass destruction except bottles and other projectiles while the police were armed with guns. It is indeed an incredible episode of ball-less law enforcement.

another list of PAP achievements.

 

[cowbellc]

One SOC troop was at City Hall patrolling when the call arrived. It made its way to Bukit Timah Road and was about to turn into Race Course Road when it was given orders to turn around and regroup at Hampshire Road. It made a U-turn at Sim Lim Square, went back up Bukit Timah and ran headlong into a jam at Kampong Java. Some of vehicles were then told to break off and make their way back down Bukit Timah Road, that is, the original route.

A U turn at sim lim square?
This guy ought to be shot!
1st he claimed comms jammed, now he say route confusion.
Apparently he is the one who doesn't understand what is going on that fateful night.

 

[scoobydoo]

Sack?? all these are talents....they will be promoted & given, 1 piece of mango cake each, letter of commendation for showing restrain & 1 month extra bonus....

WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

hmm.....pls Include Pineapple Tarts and Premium Toothpicks.
thank you.

 

[ZorrorroZ]

The Home Affairs Minister gets off scot-free. Isn't he overall responsible? Where is the accountability?

The Home Affairs Minister is NEVER responsible! NEVER!!

 

[Confuseous]

another list of PAP achievements.

Including the very well paid Police Commissioner.
But send his deputy to face the bullets in front of the COI.

 

[Confuseous]

It was good that Andrew Loh was present at the COI on the riot and shared his findings with us.

For a while I had felt that our police force have become complacent and completely KPI driven.

Delivering well on KPI make them look good but complacency can only be felt in our daily interactions with them.

I will never forget this. My father had passed away in SGH. Police have cut their services perhaps to manage costs and I could not report the death at the hospital but had to go to the station or what they now called neighborhood police center. The fact that it is still a station in my mind showed how badly they are communicating with the public. It cost money to bring a message to everyone.

The nearest police center was across the street, the huge Cantonment Complex. It was a very secure and forbidding place but the three sleepy officers were very polite. They printed me the death certificate which I took to the undertaker at 2 am in the morning. When I showed the undertaken the death certificate he told me it has no serial number! I was terribly upset that I needed to drive all the way back to the Cantonment Complex to get it fixed. It was damn sloppy work.

A riot in today Singapore is a Black Swan event for the Police. It is naturally not in the KPI. I am doubtful there are KPIs for assessing such risks and taking preventive measures so that there is not even a chance for a bud to sprout. This is the same poor attitude at SMRT which is woefully unprepared for surprises too. It costs money to be better prepared.

Does it surprise anyone that once the facts get revealed at the COI, we learn how badly trained our police officers are to cope with a riot? What else are they woefully unprepared for?

- http://blogging4myself.blogspot.sg/2014/02/riot-coi-woefully-unprepared-police.html

 

[makapaaa]

Bertha Harian

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Little India riot, Pannir Selvam, Raja Kumar, Tee Tua Ba

[h=2]An “abbreviated” version of the Little India COI[/h]<SMALL>In News Reports on February 22, 2014 at 4:31 am</SMALL> Here are some choice quotes from the Little India riot COI chairman Pannir Selvam culled from news reports:

“It was poor judgement.’’

He said this in response to Deputy Commissioner Raja Kumar’s comment that the ground commander on the night exercised “judgment’’ not to make a move until riot police arrived. They were “holding the ground’’. The COI noted that there were 100 policemen then, and only about 25 active rioters. Mr Raja said that the police, who weren’t trained for such events, were worried about the bystanders as well if they had acted against the rioters.

“What has happened is not acceptable.’’

He said this after noting that having police standing around doing nothing would lead the rioters to assume that the police were “indirectly approving’’ of their actions.

“Singapore, being a rich country, is a prime trophy target for terrorists. We don’t know where they are hiding or what they will target. If we do not have a dependable resource (like the SOC), then we are in trouble. This is what I am worried about.”

He said this after Mr Raja Kumar detailed the resource “constraints’’ the police had. The number of SOC troops have come down from 12 to eight, and the number of men in each have dropped too (no figure was reported) There were also other areas for the SOC to take care off, like Geylang. Hence, it’s pretty tight on weekends.

Former police commissioner Tee Tua Ba was less scathing but as critical.

“Unfortunately, it took more than one hour. One hour is a long time.’’

He said this after Mr Raja Kumar said that when riot police arrived, the situation was brought under control in 15 minutes to an hour.

“A lot of things are not working very well..I’m glad that you are going along the lines that things can be reviewed.’’

He said this after criticising the police move to “hold the ground’’ and referred to the riots in north England in 2001 which had shown that such a strategy merely “emboldened’’ rioters.

Poor Mr Raja Kumar. He was acting Commissioner at the time of the Little India riot and probably wished his boss was around then. He should have been dressed in riot gear when he faced the COI yesterday to shield himself against the missiles thrown his way.

Actually, his main defence was that major crimes in Little India had come down, although jay-walking went up. The SOC was short-handed and there were plenty of places it had to also “cover’’. Nevertheless, the SOC had been deployed 16 times on anti-crime patrols in Little India last year.

So he was quizzed about why the SOC took so long – more than an hour from the call for help – to get to the scene. Here’s what happened: The top officer who took the call for help wanted to do “due diligence’’ because the information was “sketchy’’ and wanted to speak to someone on the ground. That was why the decision to deploy took about 18 minutes, which could be “abbreviated’’, as Mr Raja Kumar said.

Here’s one interesting bit that only The New Paper had:

One SOC troop was at City Hall patrolling when the call arrived. It made its way to Bukit Timah Road and was about to turn into Race Course Road when it was given orders to turn around and regroup at Hampshire Road. It made a U-turn at Sim Lim Square, went back up Bukit Timah and ran headlong into a jam at Kampong Java. Some of vehicles were then told to break off and make their way back down Bukit Timah Road, that is, the original route. This comedy was reported in The New Paper with a useful map. The call to “re-group’’ appeared to have cost 10 minutes of time….

Another troop made its way from Queensway to Hampshire Road.

The time of first call: 9.23pm. Activation of SOC: 10.04pm. SOC reaches scene: 10.45pm – 10.48pm.

Thing is, as Mr Selvam asked, shouldn’t the SOC have been beefed up especially after 9/11? Mr Raja Kumar said in the past, large scale responses were needed, but today’s threats required a “different’’ response. Still, he lamented the “manpower constraint’’. Give me more men and we’ll patrol Little India every weekend, he seemed to be saying.

Hm. Wonder why the numbers were cut…Had a look at the Home Affairs ministry budget for the coming year. It’s $4.2 billion, up by 8.4 per cent. Hopefully, this will pay for more men? Hopefully, an MP will ask the question when the Committee of Supply scrutinises the ministry’s budget.

=> Went into hiking Minister's and scholars' already obscene pay?

Anyway, Mr Raja Kumar was the first policeman to face the COI. It would be interesting to hear what the other officers, especially the ground officers, say about exercising their judgments that night.