Object size: Refer to parts
This image is part of the "Riot Recollections" (2013) series by documentary photographer Zakaria Zainal and writer Prabhu Silvam. It consists of portraits of eye-witnesses and their accounts of the riot that struck Little India on 8 December 2013 — the worst outbreak of violence Singapore had experienced in four decades since the outbreak of communal riots in the 1960s. The incident, sparked by a fatal accident involving a migrant worker at the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road, injured 54 officers and 8 civilians and damaged 30 vehicles.Hitting the ground fresh a week after the incident, Zakaria and Prabhu sought to better understand what provoked the outpouring of anger by adopting the "vox populi" approach. Depicted here is Tholmas Sim, a resident who had lived in Little India for close to 25 years and witnessed the riot from his apartment on the 18th floor. He felt that despite being occasionally loud and rowdy on weekends, migrant workers have always been respectful towards residents living there. Their presence contributed to the life and vibrancy that defined the character of Little India.