Junta arrests unlicensed motorbikes and extorts owners in Mawlamyine

April 10, 2025

HURFOM: In Mawlamyine, Mon State, the joint teams of junta’s traffic police and police forces have been conducting “stop and check” of motorbikes at the entrance and exist of the Capital of the Mon State. If the team finds an unlicensed motorbike, the owner is extorted at least 30,000 MMK. Some owners are extorted up to hundreds thousand MMK. If the owners fail to pay the ransom, their motorbikes are seized and they are ordered to go to the court.

“There are lots of new motorbikes in Mon State. All new motorbikes don’t have licenses. The owners can’t apply the licenses because the junta has stopped granting new motorbike license since the attempted coup. So the new motorbikes use temporary number plates. Now, the junta arrests the temporary number plates and extorted at least 30,000 MMK from the owners. If the owner can’t pay the money, they order him/her to go to the court. Most of the owners don’t want to waste their time and accept to pay the ransom,” said a Mawlamyine resident.

The military junta has stopped issuing new motorbike license but allowed the extension of old motorbike licenses.

“As the junta stopped granting new motorbike licenses, 80% of motorbikes don’t have licenses. So arresting unlicensed motorbikes means extorting money from people,” said a young man.

Even the junta has been arresting unlicensed motorbikes in Mon State, the junta’s troops have been allowing transportation of unlicensed motorbikes from Mae Sot, Thailand via Myawaddy-Hpa-An-Thaton-Yangon route after accepting monetary bribes from 50,000 to 500,000 MMK per motorbike.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News