Commander vents anger by assaulting villager

June 17, 2009

HURFOM, MUDON: A local commander in Mudon township assaulted a young villager after the pipeline section under the commander’s protection was damaged.

On June 10th, the commander from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 209 became angry after a high-ranking officer from South East (SE) Command complained about the gas pipeline rupture in Ah Khon village, Mudon township earlier that day. Returning home the commander from LIB No. 209 picked a fight with villagers.

Three teenagers were chatting with each other beside the road, where one of the teenagers had left his bike. When the commander came by he saw the bike and called the bike’s owner over, and punch the teenager in the face 5 or 6 times, and then left without saying anything, according to a villager who witnessed the attack.

According to a source close to the village headman, he explained that the commander had been angry with the high ranking officer from SE command because he had complained about the gas pipeline rupture. The officer from SE command had complained because he hadn’t known anything about the gas pipeline rupture sooner. The headman had accompanied the commander of LIB No. 209 to the pipeline rupture site. LIB No. 209 is in charge of security for the area to protect and maintain the pipeline.

“This kind of picking a fight with villagers happens very often; when authorities get angry with someone who is higher rank then they are, they always express their feelings by assaulting villagers” said a 40 year old Kamawet villager.

Every kind person with authority in the village, such as soldiers, police, traffic police, fire men and village militia, express their frustration by picking a fight with villager, since afterwards they are not punished. Villagers in Kamawet who suffer these assaults have to hold back their complains for fear of reparation according to Ma Shein, a 50 year old Kamawet villager. This sort of random attack has happened 10 to 20 times in the last 4 years in Kamawet village, according to local sources.

A villager described the situation with a local expression saying it’s “[Like being] angry with a dog but picking a quarrel with a cat.”

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News