Pati villagers go on the rampage

PATI, Central Java: Villagers went on the rampage yesterday afternoon over a dispute about the election of the chief of the Sundoluhur village in Kayen subdistrict.

Pati Regent Yusuf Muhammad confirmed that several buildings were damaged in the melee, but did not give details about the extent of the damage to the village.

The villagers were unhappy because a popular man, Tolobi, 27, did not make it through the election process into the final pool of candidates for village chief.

Witnesses said a building caught fire in the incident and one villager was slightly injured.

Large numbers of police and soldiers were deployed to the area and were still on guard late last night.

Regent Yusuf Muhammad said the village election would continue into the next round. (har)