Three days after mobs torched some 100 houses in the town of Selat Panjang in Riau, the village is now a ghost town as most of the 6,000-odd ethnic Indonesian Chinese have fled north to Pekan Baru and elsewhere to seek refuge.

Most of the women and children fled on Tuesday, said a Singaporean whose Indonesian-born wife and family hail from the town.

"When the mobs, armed with parangs and other weapons began to burn the houses on Monday evening, all they could do was to watch helplessly as the mob threatened violence if anyone attempted to quell the fires," said Mr E. S. Low, 48, a building executive.

He has been keeping in touch with his wife's family by telephone. "I think one person died in the arson. We found out when a family was prevented from going back there to hold the funeral," he said.

The trouble started on Monday when a local ethnic Chinese gambling operator shot dead a robber, who was a pribumi, when he tried to run off with his cash.

A mob gathered shortly and started burning homes belonging to ethnic Chinese villagers. "My relative was ambushed by some of the mobsters as he was riding his motorbike and was badly beaten up," said Mr Low.

They demanded cash from the Chinese villagers and threatened to burn more homes. They also wanted the person responsible for the shooting to be handed over, he said.

But by then, the gambling-den operator and his wife had already fled to Pekan Baru, some three hours away by boat. By the next day, most of the children and women had fled north to their relatives, fearing for their safety. The men also abandoned their homes yesterday, added Mr Low.

Many in the area work as fishermen or sago plantation workers. Most of the ethnic Chinese run shops and undertake barter trade in the town, said Mr Low.