Little India riot: They lost money

Little India riot: They lost money

He was tending a vegetable and fruit shop, Guru's Marketing, at Buffalo Road, on Sunday evening when he heard a commotion about 100m away.

At first, Indian national Abdul Hakkim Mohamed Azeem Batcha, 32, thought a group of men were arguing at nearby Race Course Road.

The worker told The New Paper on Monday: "Many people come to Little India on Sunday night and they drink alcohol. Sometimes, they get into fights. I've worked here for three years and I'm used to it."

But he realised the situation was serious when a group of policemen went past at around 10.30pm and asked him to go back inside his shop for his own safety.

Then a horde of people started running towards his shop.

"Around 100 people dashed towards the shop, took everything they saw and threw them around," said worker Abdul Hakkim.

He retreated into the store and asked three colleagues to follow suit, leaving their wares unattended.

They made their way up to the second storey of the shophouse and did not dare to peek out.

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"We usually close at around midnight but we locked our doors early. From upstairs, I heard explosions and people shouting. We were scared and could not believe this was happening in Singapore."

When he went downstairs on Monday morning, he was shocked to see vegetables and fruit that are usually neatly displayed on the shop front strewn all over the floor. The shelves and baskets had been overturned.

While sweeping the floor, he said with a sigh: "I think those people used my vegetables and threw them at the police. I think we lost a few hundred dollars. I don't agree with what these people had done."

Another shopkeeper, Ms Ramasany Mullai, 43, said she lost $3,000 worth of business.

The manager of Mullai Trading, a minimart on Buffalo Road, said Sundays are typically the best days for her business.

She said: "But no one dared to step into the store because of the riot."


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