Four more workers deported in the aftermath of Singapore riot
Four more foreign workers involved in the Little India riot earlier this month have been deported, bringing the total number of deportees to 57, the police announced yesterday.
All have been deported by last night and will not be allowed to enter Singapore again.
The four additional Indian nationals repatriated are among the seven who were initially charged in court for rioting but whose charges were later dropped. They were served stern police warnings instead and hence became “undesirable immigrants in our country”, said Police Commissioner Ng Joo Hee at a press briefing yesterday.
“The persons who received the warning in this case are foreigners, so they are then deemed undesirable immigrants in our country... There are powers (which) the State has to proclaim someone a prohibited immigrant and then to remove him from the country,” he said. Every non-Singaporean requires the permission of the State or Government to reside here, he added.
Mr Ng said the four individuals had full access to consular assistance and were seen by members of the Committee of Inquiry (COI) set up in the wake of the riot on December 8. Of the other 53 individuals repatriated — all Indians except for one Bangladeshi — 16 spoke to the COI.
Responding to media queries, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said an average of 13,000 foreigners was repatriated annually over the past three years. Deportees include illegal immigrants, “overstayers” and those who have had their work privileges cancelled, the ICA said.
Repatriated persons are informed via a notice that they are to obtain prior written permission from the Controller of Immigration should they wish to enter or reside in Singapore in future. Those who enter without doing so could be jailed one to three years and fined up to S$6,000 (RM16,000) if convicted of unlawful return, and be liable for removal from Singapore.
Tomorrow, about 200 people who were at the riot, but deemed not to have committed any offence as their involvement was passive and incidental will be issued formal police advisories at the Police Cantonment Complex.
The police are notifying their employers to present the workers — from over 150 firms in the marine, trade, construction and other industries — to the Criminal Investigation Department to be formally advised. An advisory is a reminder to comply with Singapore laws, and Mr Ng said written and verbal advisories will be given to the workers, with employers present as witnesses. – Today Online, December 21, 2013.
