Page 70 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Summer 2014

Singapore’s Perspective, Little India Riot:
An Impetus to Develop Tactical Medicine

Among Medics in Singapore?

David Chew, MD; Rick Hammesfahr, MD

ABSTRACT
This is a report of the first riot in Singapore since 1969 The SPF, including its Special Operations Command and
and the subsequent emergency response from the police Gurkha Contingent, have been responsible for dealing
force and emergency medical services. Lessons learned with issues of civil unrest ever since the 1960s when large
are discussed, and recommendations for future medical riots occurred in Singapore. Historically, these types of
response in incidents of civil unrest are made. incidents are extremely rare in Singapore. Although the
last major incident occurred in 1969, a significant riot oc-
Keywords: TECC, tactical emergency casualty care, Singa- curred last year. The purposes of this report are to exam-
pore Riots, tactical medicine for law enforcement ine the response to this recent incident of civil unrest and
to present a possible solution to the problems identified.

Introduction The 2013 Riot
Singapore is an independent city state that lies off the The 8 December 2013 riot was a unique experience for
southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It is one of the Singapore authorities. On that day, a riot occurred in
world’s leading commercial hubs, with the fourth-big- the Little India section of Singapore. It was sparked by
gest financial center and one of the five busiest ports. a fatal accident after a private bus knocked down an
Although the population is 75% Chinese, it includes Indian national at the junction between Race Course
significant minorities of Malays, Indians, Europeans, Road and Hampshire Road at around 2123 hours local
and other ethnicities. Law enforcement is conducted time (Figure 1).
by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), which has 14 staff
departments, three specialist staff departments, and 10 The ambulance arrived at the scene at 2131, 6 minutes
specialist and line units, which include as tactical units after the SCDF was alerted of the incident. The first
six land divisions, the Special Operations Command, police car arrived at the scene at 2137. The casualty,
and the Gurkha Contingent (anti-riot police). Police who was pinned under the bus, was extricated and pro-
officers in the tactical units are cross-trained as medics nounced dead by the SCDF paramedics at the scene as
and can provide treatment to officers and the public in the crowd began to behave in an unruly manner. During
the event of injuries or wounds suffered by police in the this time, the bystanders swelled from 100 to about 400
line of duty or by civilians during riots (including riot and they started to pelt first responders from the SCDF
participants as well as bystanders), terrorist incidents, and SPF with stones, bottles, and other improvised mis-
and other incidents to which the SPF responds. siles. Some of the rioters were under the influence of
alcohol. Both the bus driver and the timekeeper (who
In addition to the SPF, the Singapore Civil Defence Force keeps the time of the arrival and departure of the bus)
(SCDF), a uniformed organization under the purview of were escorted from the accident scene to safety by the
the Ministry of Home Affairs, provides fire-fighting, police. The bus was damaged by the crowd of bystand-
rescue, and emergency ambulance services and mitigates ers who had turned into a mob.
hazardous materials incidents. It also plays a major role
in the Republic’s disaster relief operations. The SCDF The SPF mobilized its Special Operations Command
has a medical department that operates the emergency and the Gurkha Contingent, which reached the scene
ambulance service. Each ambulance is staffed by a mix- at 2242 hours. The mob was finally dispersed at 2325
ture of paramedics (equivalent to NREMT-P certifica- hours without any shots fired from any weapon, lethal
tions) and EMT-qualified medics. or nonlethal, throughout the incident.

60