Hundreds of people rallied and burned down tens of houses in the Sepakat red light district in Pelalawan, Riau, on Thursday as part of an anti-vice campaign ahead of Ramadan.

The destruction occurred following a demonstration by people involved with the local anti-vice movement, known as Gemas, demanding the closure of the location to respect the upcoming Islamic holy month.

Police monitoring the demonstration could not stop the crowd from damaging the properties.

Earlier, residents living around the red light district had demanded its closure, but their request was ignored, which led them to take the law into their own hands.

Initially, people were only vandalizing property in the area, but then some began setting fire to the dwellings. The fire spread quickly as most of the homes were made of wood.

The tenants in the houses attempted to extinguish the blaze and limit the damage to property, but it was too large.

"The people have long warned [red light district] operators to stop their activities but the warnings were ignored. This is the result of their arrogance," said Saidina Ali, the third chairman of the local chapter of the Council of Ulema.

He said the red light activities in the area had been going on for decades and its presence had made the local community feel uncomfortable. It was also hurting the morality of the younger generation, he added.