Police have arrested 27 suspects from South Asia in connection with the Little India riot on Sunday, which left 10 police officers and four civil defence officers injured.

The riot, which were not premeditated, were sparked off by a fatal accident involving a 33-year-old Indian national who was knocked down by a private bus, and had involved some 400 people. Five police vehicles and one ambulance were damaged in the fracas, which started at about 9.23pm on Sunday.

Commissioner of Police Ng Joo Hee said in a press conference on Monday that the riot was resolved by the police within an hour after the call was received. He added that no Singaporean was believed to have been involved in the riot, adding that destruction of property and fighting the police is not the Singapore way.

The driver of the private bus involved in the accident before the riot remains in hospital and is not arrested, said CP Ng. Some 300 police officers responded to the Little India riot but not a single shot - lethal or non-lethal - was fired.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also the Minister for Home Affairs, said that the government will not tolerate such incidents, urging the public to stay calm, not to speculate.

At least five vehicle loads of officers from the police Special Operations Command and Gurkha Contingent, clad in riot gear, were also at the scene to control the mob. The windscreens and windows of a Traffic Police Expressway patrol car, a fifth police patrol car and an ambulance were also smashed.

Projectiles were thrown at the SCDF rescuers while they were extricating the body of the dead worker - which CP Ng said was "not acceptable".