Little India Riot COI: Separate with gate: Resident

LITTLE INDIA RIOT INQUIRY

While residents of the Rowell Court Residents' Committee (RC) in Little India are pleased with the new measures that have kicked in since the Dec 8 riot, they want more to be done.

Rowell Court is an area of 10 blocks bounded by Rowell Road and Veerasamy Road.

Responding to a question about gated communities, RC chairman Lim Herh Kim said that while the Member of Parliament for their area is looking into erecting a fence, there are considerations such as accessibility for wheelchair-bound residents.

"I think they are coming up with ideas to have this gate to block out foreign workers," he told the Committee of Inquiry on Thursday.

Another resident, Madam Gwee Nyuk Lian, who lives at Buffalo Road, said she has seen more foreign workers congregating under her block in the past 10 years.

She often sees them sleeping on the passageways drunk (because there are beer bottles near them) or sleeping in the stairways. There is often also vomit and urine at the block and surrounding areas.

Madam Gwee said: "Even yesterday morning, when I stepped out of my flat, I saw someone sleeping at the staircase." When asked what she would like to see done, Madam Gwee said she hopes that the hygiene of the area could be improved.

Get The New Paper for more stories.