Major events of this
period
(Part II)
The Straits Times, May 17, 1955
The pattern of developments... today closely
conforms to the Communist technique in seeking to
ferment industrial unrest on any excuse and to
obstruct peaceful solutions...The black day
May 12 Mr Goode then gave the main time-table of events, on what he called "a black day in Singapore's history."
1.45 pm: A Hock Lee bus was attacked by a gang of hooligans and the Commissioner of Police immediately ordered a full stand-by of all police on the island. He rightfully feared that the incident would lead to general rioting.
3 pm: The remaining drivers of the buses were intimidated into stopping the service and large crowds of workers, strikers and students converged in growing numbers in the Hock Lee Bus Company area.
It was clear by this time that very large numbers of workers and students were being organised throughout the island and were converging on Alexnadra Road by bus and lorry.
A comprehensive system of police road blocks was immediately established throughout Singapore and wherever lorries and buses were encountered carrying students or workers, they were stopped by police and ordered to go back.
Some refused to obey and in such cases, the vehicles were immobilised by the police.
Cordon of road blocks thrown
Meanwhile, a tight police cordon of road blocks was thrown round the danger area bounded by Gillman Circus, Alexandra Circus, Tanglin Road junction of Jervois Road, Delta Road junction of Jervois Road, River Valley Road junction of Kim Seng Road to Havelock Road police station and to Outram Road.
These road blocks were designed to make it virtually impossible for any person to enter the danger area by road without being stopped.
It also stopped organised bodies of students and workers in lorries from swelling the hostile crowds, but there were large numbers of students and others who infiltrated on foot through the surrounding open country, particularly after dark.
Radio warnings to the public
5 pm: From this time onward, Radio Malaya and Redifussion, at the request of the police, interrupted programmes to give frequent warnings to citizens that the area was dangerous and asking motorists and others to avoid entering it.
The police's plan -- to protect life and property -- was to prevent reinforcements from arriving to swell the crowds by cordoning the area where trouble was likely to occur and preventing law-abiding citizens from going into danger unwittingly. At the same time, the police wanted to provide a powerful policeguard round the main target of the rioters, which was the Hock Lee bus depot in Alexandra Road, and to use mobile police squads to deal with individual attacks.
7 pm: For three hours, there were incidents of stones and bottles being thrown at police on duty in the danger area, and on three occasions hostile mobs of up to 1,000 persons attacking the police were dispersed by tear smoke.
Some arrests were made, and as was expected, it was not till dark that the mobs made determined efforts to attack police posts, road blocks, individual policemen and radio patrol cars.
By this time the police had completely sealed off the area by road blocks, had stopped lorry loads of students and workers from reinforcing the mobs and had strong guards on the Hock Lee Bus Company and mobile police reserves within the danger area.
Hampered by darkness
The police, Mr Goode said, were hampered by darkness and the nature of terrain from making arrests.
Throughout the night up till 3 am on May 13, repeated hit and run attacks were made on police.
Mobile police patrols used tear smoke and succeeded in keeping the mobs on the move and prevented them from concentrating in any organised attempt to overwhelm the police by weight of numbers.
The greatest restraint was shown by all police personnel on duty, including volunteer police who worked side by side with the regulars in a manner which deserves the highest praise and thanks of the public, Mr Goode said.
Throughout the night there was only one occasion when a police officer was forced to use his revolver, and on one occasion, the commander of the Reserve Unit troop fired a round of buckshot.
May 13 The students vanish
The day was quiet. There were large numbers of strikers moving about and an almost complete strike of bus workers throughout the island.
There was a minor incident in Penang Road but throughout the day, there was less organised violence. It was significant, Mr Goode said, that on that day there were no organised parties of Chinese students in town.
Individual police were subject to booing and stoning and bands of young hooligans wandered about throwing stones and smashing motorcars. In the evening, two cars belonging to Europeans in the Changi area were set on fire.
May 14 But danger remains
This was another day of tension. There was a clear possibility of a dangerous demonstration at the funeral of a Chinese student but this passed off without incident.
That evening, the Chief Minister succeeded in getting a settlement of the Hock Lee strike. There was a marked lessening of tension and transport (workers) later reported for work.
"We are now left," said Mr Goode, "with only a comparatively small number of genuine industrial disputes. The tension has eased but the House should realise clearly and face the hard fact that we still have a potentially dangerous situation, which at any time may require the firmest possible measures to support law and order."
Copyright © 1998 Singapore Press Holdings. All Rights Reserved.
1955 - Hock Lee bus riots