Jakarta – Police detained at least 74 people after a second day of rioting in Central Java in which scores of ethnic Chinese-owned stores and cars were torched or damaged Tuesday, Antara news agency reported. Thirty-two high-school students were among those held for questioning after rioting and looting in the town of Kebumen.

Captain Umbaryanto of the security forces in Kebumen told AFP that attacks on buildings "are still going on here and there, and we are moving from place to place to control the situation." He added: "There was also some looting today."

Antara said troops used tear gas to disperse mobs which grouped along Kebumen's main roads. Smoke and fire were still rising from burned buildings on Tuesday morning, the Suara Pembaruan evening newspaper said. Umbaryanto had earlier said the situation had been brought under control after outside troop reinforcements were called in, but he declined to give details.

Antara said 74 shops and warehouses were torched and looted and the mobs also set alight 15 trucks, nine public minibuses, five motorcycles and a steamroller. "Firefighting efforts were hindered because of the limited number of fire engines," the head of the district, Amin Sudibyo told Suara Pembaruan. He said the town only had two operating fire engines.

The head of the military command overseeing security in Central Java, Major General Tyasno Sudarto visited Kebumen on Monday and was quoted by Suara Pembaruan as having put the military in several nearby towns on top alert.

An employee of the state electricity firm PLN in Kebumen said power was shut down for more than six hours on Monday and local police said it had no been restored by midday Tuesday.

The daily Media Indonesia quoted Sudarto as saying: "We will investigate the rioting thoroughly, but an interim report points to the assumption that the riot was started by a misunderstanding between the 'Rejo Agung' shop owner and his employee."

Reports said the owner of an auto spare-parts shop beat up his 20-year-old employee after he spilled a can of lubricant and that onlookers attacked the shop and started burning tires in the street. Rioting soon spread to other parts of the town.