Police gatecrashes World Cup 2014 screening near Little India, bye bye kampong spirit

Is there really no room for a light touch approach in SIngapore?

Belmont Lay| June 27, 07:56 PM

The free screening of World Cup 2014 matches outside an empty terrace house in Sing Avenue near Little India the last two weeks for a small group of foreign workers has ended.

On June 26, 2014, the police gatecrashed the quiet party and dispersed the crowd.

The free screening was offered out of goodwill by a resident Rooban Kanth, 26, who was quoted in The Straits Times saying:

"We cooperated and brought the television back into the house. The police were very nice about it."

The group of seven people grew to 70 over the course of a fortnight. Most of those who dropped by for some free entertainment were migrant workers who lived around the area and one of them is a 10-year-old boy.

The police said yesterday the officers had come across the group and advised them to disperse out of safety concerns.

And it is not like the public broadcasting of the matches bothered SingTel.

One of its spokesman was quoted as saying:

"It warmed our hearts to see our customer generously bringing the World Cup spirit to the foreign workers in the area. After all, he was not making a profit from it."

 

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