The two police officers emerging from the patrol car were initially confused by the pandemonium. Some of the witnesses were eager to update them but neither of the two understood Tamil. And then they spotted the mob justice. A Chinese man was being held hostage by a group of irate migrant workers, some of whom were hammering him with their fists. Both the officers froze. Never in their line of duty had they been confronted by such a scenario. It was a group of ten or more enacting violence against the Chinese man, but there must be over a hundred onlookers. The immediate realisation of the two officers was that they were outnumbered, not only as police officers by rowdy migrant workers, but also as Chinese by Indians. As much as they hated to admit it even to themselves, they felt unsafe.

Of the two officers, the corporal was the first to recover from the shock. He announced that he would call for reinforcements, and quickly slipped back into the vehicle to reach for the police radio. The sergeant was left with no choice but to take on the angry mob alone. He drew out his baton and shouted for the group to halt the attack, but nobody heard him. It was all too noisy and confusing. The sergeant pulled out his whistle and blew hard. This time, everyone heard it. Three of the migrant workers rushed towards him with the intention of reporting that there was an injured man who needed an ambulance. But the sergeant thought that the mob was breaking out to attack him and in panicked reflex lashed out with his baton. His first strike caught one of the migrant workers on the left arm, and the poor man shrieked in pain. There was a suspended moment when the crowd stared at the sergeant in bewilderment. The bus driver took the opportunity to struggle free and raced towards the patrol car, shouting for help. As some of the migrant workers approached the sergeant to explain the event, the jittery sergeant again lashed out at them with his baton. That was the moment the crowd began to jeer. The police was here to protect the culprit. They would never be on their side.