Secondary 2 History-Hock Lee Bus Riot

1. Hock Lee Bus Riot

2. This riot took place in the 12 th of May 1955 during the government of David Marshall The workers of Hock Lee Amalgamated Bus Company were members of the Singapore Bus Worker Union and Hock Lee Employees Union. The leaders of the union were Lim Chin Siong and Fong Swee Suan In April, the workers from Singapore Bus Workers’ Union want to go on strike because they want to work in a better condition and pay under Communist influence 229 workers were fired by Hock Lee Bus Company because of the demand

3. The fired workers then blocked the gates at the company bus depot at Alexandra Road and don’t let the bus from leaving the depot. . They did this because they want to protest against the company’s action When the police were called, the fired workers were so mad that they stoned the police. The police then fight back with their batons. The fight lead to 15 people injured The protest gained it’s support from the Chinese School students who came in lorries and entertained the fired workers.

4. Those fired workers finally got back their jobs after the riot. The riot caused the British to think that David Marshall was not capable of solving the problems of the riot and the communist attack because he made an empty agreement The British don’t think that David Marshall can protect Singapore from falling into communist attacks. This caused the Merdeka talks to fail

5. David Marshall tried to talk with the fired workers by forming the Commission of Inquiry. However, nothing was done and no agreement was made so the strike continue 6 other companies also strike which worsen the condition The police uses fire hose to control the workers and students from doing anything. A riot took place in the 12 th of May 1955 which was also known as the Black Thursday. The workers attacked the police with bricks, stones and bottles The riot was put down in the 14 th of May 1955. 4 people were killed and 31 were injured.