Two senior officers of the Burmese Army have been detained in northern Kachin State and put on trial in a military court over a scam related to timber in the state, said local sources.
Col. Khin Maung Maw, Commander of Mong Mit based Military Strategy and Lt-Col. Nay Tin Latt Commander of Myitkyina based Infantry Battalion No. 37, which is now stationed at the Kai Htik checkpoint in Bhamo district on a rotational system, under the junta's Northern Regional Command (Ma Pa Kha), were arrested last week by the army authorities, said sources close to them.
According to sources in Burmese Army bases in Bhamo, the two officers have been put in a military prison cell in Bhamo where they have been on trial since last week.
Timber businessmen in Bhamo district said, the Military Strategic Commander Col. Khin Maung Maw and Battalion Commander Lt-Col. Nay Tin Latt detained hundreds of trucks carrying timber, including timber belonging to United Wa State Army (UWSA) in late May.
The UWSA complained about the two army officers to the Northern Regional Commander headquartered in Kachin State's capital Myitkyina, said timber businessmen in Bhamo.
The timber businessmen added that the two Burmese Army officers took large amounts of bribe by detaining timber trucks. However they were greedy and cornered almost all the bribe money without sending the mandatory amount of the bribe to the Northern Regional headquarters and Naypyitaw.
During late May, the Military Strategic Commander Col. Khin Maung Maw led two army columns of Infantry Battalion No. 74 (Mogaung) and Light Infantry Battalion 347 (Myothit, Bhamo) and detained all timber trucks loaded with hardwood and teak in the logging forests in Bhamo district and the border between Kachin State and Shan State, said a timber businessman on the Sino-Burma border.
The timber businessman added "The Military Strategic Commander is like a robber. He seized all timber trucks he saw during the military operation. No timber truck could escape."
Similarly, the battalion commander Lt-Col. Nay Tin Latt divided and dealt with timber businessmen depending on who bribed him and who did not. He authorized passage through the Kai Htik checkpoint to transport timber to the China border to timber trucks that paid him what he demanded. But he completely blocked timber trucks, whose drivers did not pay him the demanded amount of bride to pass the checkpoint, said sources.
The Kai Htik checkpoint is situated on the road between Bhamo and Nam Hkam (also spelled Nam Kham), about 40 miles southeast of Bhamo. It is a key checkpoint and all timber trucks have to pass it in order to transport their timber to the China border, said local timber businessmen.
On June 8, checkpoint commander Lt-Col. Nay Tin Latt assaulted U Tin Shwe a forest ranger in Bhamo district at the Kai Htik checkpoint over sharing of bribe from timber.
The Bhamo Forestry sources said that Lt-Col Nay Tin Latt grabbed the entire share of timber bribe without giving the forest ranger U Tin Shwe his portion. He was also assaulted by the battalion commander and his soldiers when he demanded his share of the bribe.
Small time traders on the Sino-Burma border, who transport goods from Burma and China along the Bhamo-Kai Htik-Nam Hkam Road, told KNG today, the checkpoint commander Lt-Col. Nay Tin Latt often stopped their goods trucks even though he could earn only small amount of bribes from the good trucks compared to timber trucks.
At the moment, local traders, who depend on the Bhamo-Kai Htik-Nam Hkam Road are facing problems because the Kai Htik checkpoint is not allowing any goods or timber trucks to pass the Kai Htik checkpoint for the last couple of weeks.
