Thanbyuzayat Fire Brigade Extorts Village Residents

January 27, 2014

HURFOM: On January 21, 2014, fire brigades from the Thanbyuzayat, Karote Pi, Sat-se, Kwan Hlar, and Hnee Pa Daw villages rushed to a fire which had engulfed four houses in Pa-na Village, Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State. After the fires had been extinguished, the victims were forced to bribe the Thanbyuzayat Fire Brigade for doing their jobs. Local residents deem it unacceptable for public servants to extort their community in such a way.

At 4:00 pm on the 21st, Mi Pa Lin, 60, set fire to three of her relatives’ houses; two motorbikes were also set ablaze. The fire brigades from surrounding villages came to fight the fire. While the Karote Pi, Sat-se, Kwan Hlar, and Hnee Pa Daw brigades ask for nothing, the Thanbyuzayat brigade requested money from the victims.

According to a local source, the Thanbyuzayat Township fire brigade demanded money for 10 gallons of fuel from the victim.

Nai Tun, from the Mon Literature and Culture Group of Pa-na Village reports that, “during the fire, [a policeman] came to check it. He did not offer his help [to extinguish the fire], but [started] asking how the fire got started. He was busy asking [everyone], but we were [too] busy battling the fire to answer him, so he [was not able to get information] from us. [The policeman] just wanted to make things more complicated. If he [had] waited to [ask questions] after the fire ceased, he could [have gotten] more details”.

Beyond the policeman’s interference as the villagers were trying to get the fire under control, the locals also complain that the Thanbyuzayat fire fighters sought to extort money from the victims.

A local resident explains that the fire brigade should be a non-profit group, providing a public service to the community; helping the community. Instead, the Thanbyuzayat Township fire brigade caused the victims further suffering, beyond the distress they had suffered from the fire, by extorting them for money they may not have.

“They ask [for more than] fuel”, says a local tea shop owner, “when there was a fire in the past, the fire brigade came to extinguish the fire; they came to my tea shop, but they paid me nothing”. The tea shop owner says that the fire brigade told her to get the money for their purchases from the victim of the fire.

“I also heard that the fire [brigade] asked for 100,000 kyat from the victim”, explains Pa-na villager Nai Hteik, “but I am not sure [if] the victim already [paid] or not”.

The victims of the Thanbyuzayat house fires did not seek help from the police. Local residents have experienced corruption one too many times to trust their public servants. If there is an incident concerning an accident in the village, most residents are not willing to ask help from Burmese police.

“The lower rank department does not want to work, unless [they get] paid. After [any] work, there is always bribery; it’s kind of a habit,” says Min Zaw, 40, from Thanbyuzayat.

As a public service group, the fire brigade should contribute to their community; they should strive to make their community better. This is not the case with the Thanbyuzayat Township fire brigade. The fact that they are extorting their residents, only to amplify the troubles of a community that is already facing enough hardship, is unacceptable.

Min Zaw stresses that “[the brigade] should consider [the victim’s position] when seeking money. [The] fire-fighting group, Red Cross, and [the] police are public servants, but we still need to pay for it now. There are a lot [of public servants in Thanbyuzayat] who do not want to work, unless they get paid”.

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