Little India was "like a war zone": TNP photojournalist
Speaking to RazorTV, The New Paper journalist Zaihan Mohamed Yusof said, "On Sunday night, a call came in at about 10pm.
"The guy on the other end said that he had a tip off to tell us, that there was a riot in Little India. It seemed like a hoax, because he seemed more interested in finding out if he could get a prize for telling us this.
"So I didn't take it seriously, but two minutes later he must have called again saying, 'Are you on the way here? There's one man dead.'
"When I heard that, I thought that this was serious stuff. I informed the News Editor and he said 'let's go'.
"Within 10 minutes I went to the photo room and contacted [photojournalist] Jonathan, and we were on our way to Little India. We arrived there at about 10.45pm and along the way there were indications that this was the real thing.
"There were police cars and motorbikes speeding to that location. We found ourselves at Hampshire Road and we knew we were at the right place because of the fire ball that I could see about 50 metres away from where the car was.
"We were then stuck in a jam and we decided that Jonathan should go out and scout around."
Picking up from where Zaihan had left off, photojournalist Jonathan Choo, told RazorTV that the first thing he saw was the ball of fire and a whole row of cars.
He said that he found it strange as there was no-one around to put it out, but as he looked around he saw the riot police in full gear.
He then tried to find the police cordon, but there wasn't any as well. He then thought that the riot was over and went forward.
However, just as he did, "I saw a whole group of people rushing off. So I thought that the action is still on and I moved towards them.
"When I reached there I realised that there was the hotspot, and I started shooting.
"After a few shots, one of them spotted me and started shouting at me. Then the rest turned towards me and the nearest person to me, who was holding a rock, grabbed my camera strap.
"When I realised that whole group was starting to react, and I knew I already had the pictures, I knew I had to run for my life. I quickly pulled the camera away from the guy and ran.
"I started to hear 'pok, pok' sounds around me. When I on the ground, I realised that they throwing rocks at me."
Zaihan than continued the story, saying, "Because 20 minutes later, I stood about 50 to 60 metres away from where Jonathan was, watching from what I thought was safe location.
"I'm not sure if the person beside was an AETOS officer or a police officer, and he told me 'it's okay, this place is safe, it's too far'.
"So I was looking around trying to get some shots, and suddenly there was that eerie sound of glass breaking and rocks dropping just in front of you.
"Next thing you know, both of us evacuated to the rear where it was much safer.
"When you walk, you were trampling on broken shards (of glass)."
"It's like a walking in war zone, basically," quipped Jonathan.
Continuing his harrowing tale, Zaihan said, "Later after interviewing one gentleman, he told me that he had learnt that the cause of anger may have been due to the accident, an accident where a man had died.
"There were shouts from the mob asking who is going to be responsible for this man's life. Who is going to be responsible for him and who is going to answer to his family?
"So that is what he gathered from the shouts."
Recalling a particularly scary moment, Zaihan explained how a coffeeshop owner saved him.
"I was near Chander Road, I think, just behind Race Course Road" continued Zaihan.
"I was trying to look for people who had seen what had happened. And all of a sudden I heard shouts coming from my right or from my back, and when I turned it looked like a wall of people coming towards me.
"Imagine a Spanish bull run. Of course, I panicked, luckily this aunty and uncle opened their coffeeshop gate and said, 'Come in, come in', and pulled me in, closed the gate and locked it.
"And basically the moment they put on the padlock, a lot of people had ran over screaming. And I had to calm myself down by sitting down for awhile.
"But I couldn't stay in there for too long, because I had to find people and talk to them."
Referring to Jonathan, he said, "We didn't speak to each other for about an hour. He didn't answer my calls because he was also busy."
Jonathan explained that he too was hiding in a shop, but it was closer to the end of the riot scene.
He said, "I took a lot of shots of people being arrested. "
Explaining the separation from his partner, Zaihan maintained he was worried about Jonathan because they have similar experiences overseas in places like Fiji.
However, he would have appreciated a text message from Jonathan assuring him that he was indeed safe.
Finally, when they met an hour later, Zaihan said that his car was trapped in a stand-off between the police and a handful of the rioters.
He added, "It was madness. It is something you do not see in Singapore."
Jonathan also said, "It was like a war zone. You wouldn't believe that it was in Singapore.
Photo Gallery:
Riot in Singapore's Little India
Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source:
The Straits Times, Chloe Chua, Zaobao.com, The New Paper, YouTube screengrabs, Facebook screengrabs
