Six scooters parked in a street of Macao were torched, which local police believed to be arson, forcing a large number of nearby residence to be evacuated from their homes, Macao Daily Times reported on Sunday.

The incident occurred at 5:00 a.m. local time Saturday and was discovered by people dwelling nearby the Rua do Pagode road. The dwellers had to be evacuated from the their homes for safety, as the smoke flew into the buildings, the daily said.

Two dwellers, a 57-year-old woman and a two-and-half-year-old girl, got injured when running out of their home, and were later rushed to a local hospital for medical treatment, according to the report.

The Judiciary Police have started an investigation on the incident. Under Macao's Penal Code, the judge can mete out sentences of three years to 30 years in prison for arson.

(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2009)