A wave of vandalism against cars in the Helsinki area with Estonian number plates has raised a furore in Estonia.
A group of Estonian construction workers in the Roihuvuori area in the east of Helsinki were surprised earlier this month when two of their cars kept in the same car park burned last week, while the windows of a third car were broken.
"Paper had been placed in the fuel tank to light the fire", said Estonian builder Aado Aus on Monday in Helsinki.
He is convinced that the fires were set deliberately.
The view in Estonia is that the fires were expressions of anger at foreign labour. Reports of vandalism against Estonian-registered vehicles have been discussed in recent days in the Estonian media and Internet chat rooms.
Police in Helsinki do not see a reason to suspect systematic attacks against Estonian-registered cars.
"Vandalism of cars is fairly common in the capital city. It is more frequent than car theft, for instance", says Mikko-Petteri Vasalin, head of police investigations at the motor vehicle unit for East Helsinki.
In one week, 47 cases of vandalism against cars have been reported to police. Of these, 45 vehicles had Finnish plates, and two were registered in Estonia. The figures did not include the two cars that burned in Roihuvuori.
A police patrol that arrived at the spot saw flames spread from one car to the one next to it. The Crime Laboratory will investigate the cause of the fire.
"Usually the motive of vandalism is someone's ‘brilliant idea'", Vasalin notes.
"Someone will beat a car after leaving a bar in a bad mood. Sometimes 13-year-old boys are at work. Someone may try to break into a car to sleep in it. Revenge is a rare motive.
