Bribed authorities prosper from growing gambling and drug industries in Paung Township, Mon State

May 27, 2013

HURFOM: In a series of interviews, villagers from across Paung Township, Mon State, have described how the township has become a hotbed of unsavory activity as a result of widespread corruption amongst local authorities. With police officials making a booming profit from regularly paid bribes for at least 5 years now, the gambling and drug industries in the region have been allowed to grow unfettered.

Talking to HURFOM, a shopkeeper from Paung Township explained more about the mechanics of police corruption. He detailed how senior officials train underlings to gather information on and extort bribes (also called “illegal taxes”) from villagers, with the money then being relayed to higher ranking authorities.

“I know that these [high ranking] police officers have henchmen,” he said. “A police sergeant will have underlings, who they can control as they like. According to police officers [who are the underlings], they are given the position of being first or second in command and are selected by the police department to collect bribes. Kyi Aye tells me that [this practice] is very popular in the area. He [Kyi Aye] lived in Moe Naing quarter, Paung Township, and has a bad name in the area for collecting bribes for the police department. There are 4 or 5 persons like Kyi Aye.

He continued, “One thing that I know from this area is that we have a lot of illegal lotteries and betting on football. The police nickname people who run gambling operations “Sarpalin”. The police ask for money from the people running and taking part in gambling activities. After the police underling collects the money, they keep some of it for themselves and then give the rest to the police department. The police department shares it out amongst various figures, such as police officers and township authorities. If they are clever the police share money with district level authorities, which earns them a better standing with these authorities. The money they [people benefiting from corruption] get from illegal taxes is more than their monthly salary and so the villagers continue to be abused by paying these bribes to them.”

Widespread corruption has had a deeply felt impact on the Paung Township community. Two locals, speaking on May 22, pointed to how the area’s burgeoning gambling industry, encouraged by money-hungry authorities, has led the character of many people in the township to change for the worse.

U Lwin, a goldsmith in Paung Township, gave further details of the negative impacts of routine bribery on the township.

“Police officers from Myo Ma police station have been taking bribes for 4 or 5 years now. It is not diminishing. They are collecting taxes from gambling, betting on football and lotteries. The police accept these kinds of taxes from the people who take part in illegal lotteries and gambling. Nowadays there are so many kinds of gambling in our area. The police officer That Tin trains people to be his henchmen, who gather information in the villages. We hear about how these henchmen abuse the villagers and ask them for money frequently. Our environment is not peaceful. It is not secure these days and sometimes possessions, such as motorbikes, are stolen in broad daylight. In addition, people are also starting to trade drugs. At the moment you can buy Ya Ba [tablets containing a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine] anywhere in our area.”

With HURFOM reporting earlier this month on the growing drug problem in Mon areas, U Lwin offered an interesting insight into the root causes of what he claimed to be a damaging drug problem in Paung Township.

“I think this kind of situation [the township’s growing drugs trade] is directly caused by the authorities. They do not solve the drugs problem because they get money from the traders. The authorities’ henchmen are also involved with drug traders. We are finding it difficult to control our children because of drugs. Also, [as a result of drug use] the security is not good in our village. In Paung Township, the government-employed police and village administration do not help the villagers, they just make a profit from them.”

A retired teacher from Zin Kyite village, Paung Township, was equally critical of the complicity of corrupt authorities in the area’s drug problem, calling for an end of police corruption to match the mood of reform in the country as a whole.

“The main cause of youth drug use is bad administration in our community. No other country would close its eyes and allow this drug problem to remain. It could not happen if the administration officers, authorities and police did not take bribes. We teachers feel that, even though they are forbidding drug use now, it is too late. The people who govern our communities must not be selfish. They should prepare to act in these situations. For example, the police station has had a bad name for a long time now. I would like to say that that the character of the police should change, just as Burma’s situation is changing right now.”

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News