SINGAPORE - Seven residents from the Singapore Boys' Home, aged between 14 and 17, have been charged with rioting with weapons on Saturday morning (Sept 29), said Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee.
Fourteen residents were arrested on Friday night after an alleged riot but their identities will not be revealed as they are juveniles.
The other seven are assisting the police with investigations, said a Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) spokesman on Saturday.
Two staff from the home, understood to be youth guidance officers, and an auxiliary police officer were taken to hospital after the incident. One of the Boys' Home staff was discharged on Friday night, while the other two were discharged on Saturday.
On Friday, the police said they received a call for help at 5.51pm. The MSF spokesman said the police were contacted for help as part of the home's protocol for mass disturbances.
"A group of boys in the Singapore Boys' Home was alleged to have behaved in an unruly manner after playing sports and assaulted two Singapore Boys' Home staff and an auxiliary police officer," said the MSF spokesman. The family members of the 14 residents were notified of their arrest.
The facility was also locked down by the police and staff from the home, added the spokesman.
At around 7pm, The Straits Times saw more than 15 police vehicles and 10 police bikes at the home in Jurong West.
The last time many police vehicles were spotted there was in September 2016, when 26 residents from the home were arrested for unlawful assembly.
The Singapore Boys' Home is a juvenile residential home run by the Ministry of Social and Family Development. It houses at-risk young people aged between 12 and 19 who might also have been in trouble with the law.
The police said they are investigating the incident, and MSF said the home is assisting with investigations.
Correction note: An earlier version of the article said the home houses at-risk young people aged between 12 and 21 who might also have been in trouble with the law. It should be between 12 and 19. We are sorry for the error.
