Committee of Inquiry hearing: Timekeeper pushed workers, used insults: Auxiliary cops

BUS timekeeper Wong Geck Woon, one of the targets of rioters in the Dec 8 riot in Little India, was known to be rude to foreign workers, the Committee of Inquiry into the incident was told on Monday.

She was overheard calling them "stupid", "idiot" or other worse insults, said auxiliary police officer Nathan Chandra Sekaran, 35, on the fourth day of the public hearing.

Madam Wong, 38, had scolded and shouted at the workers to get them in line for the buses because of the messy queue system before the riot, said the constable from security firm Certis Cisco.

From what he has seen, she was the only bus timekeeper to resort to such insults, he added.

His colleague, Mr Raymond Murugiasu, 20, also told the committee on Monday that Madam Wong was rude to the workers.

"She's fond of pushing foreign workers and she uses vulgar language when she talks to them. They usually retaliate by shouting back at her," he said.

He had seen an Indian man fall down after being pushed by her, he added.

The testimonies on Monday contrasted with what Madam Wong said under oath last Thursday, when she flatly denied ever insulting or roughing up anyone.

However, Mr Nathan said in her defence: "I wish to say that it is difficult for her to carry out this job without scolding them."

The two officers have been performing "foreign worker management" duty in Little India for almost every weekend and public holiday for the last three years.

Mr Nathan said the workers may have been angry with her out of "human nature" after being scolded every weekend.

Mr Raymond agreed that the history of bad blood between Madam Wong and the men was a possible cause of the riot.

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