Jakarta – Hundreds of residents of Kendari, the provincial capital of Indonesia's Sulawesi province, smashed windows of Chinese-owned shops in anger at reports that an ethnic Chinese man had abused his local maid.

The unrest broke out at a market in the town yesterday. A local official named Mr Nurdin said: "It was sparked by reports that a maid had been manhandled by a Chinese man owning a shop in the Mandonga market."

The official said he saw several shops in the market being attacked, but rapid police intervention prevented further damage. A Kendari police officer, Master Sergeant Bambang, said shop windows were shattered but damage was "very limited".

The Antara news agency said the incident involved workers from the Kendari port, labourers at the market and drivers of motorcycle taxis. A hospital official said no one had been admitted for treatment.

Simmering resentment against ethnic Chinese, who dominated the Indonesian economy for decades under former dictator Suharto, has led to several riots in the archipelago in recent years. Chinese citizens were the target of student-led mobs that ran riot throughout the country in May 1998.

Indonesian Chinese, who made up just 3 per cent of the country's population of 202 million, were victimised although they played no role in the political change that led to the overthrow of the Suharto government.

The sheer scale of the violence in May 1998, including the widely-publicised rapes, led to an exit of many ethnic Chinese. Many found new homes in Hongkong, Singapore and Australia.