Two members of the Border Guard Forces (BGF) were arrested in front of the Maha Bawdi Pagoda on the Yangon-Mawlamyine Expressway, according to the Kywe Chan village Administrator U Myint Aung.
The guards were drinking at a local pub in Kywe Chan village in Paung, Mon State, refused to pay and threatened local people by firing their guns.
“They [two armed men] came to the local pub for a drink but did not pay. They then started acting violently. Outside of the pub one of them fired his gun into the air. [The pub owner] tried to reach the local authority. Then 15 minutes later, a police officer along with his team from the city police station arrived at the place. As everyone was trying to catch them, both men shot their guns straight up into the air while trying to escape,” said U Myint Aung.
The two armed men discharged their weapons, firing into the air to frighten children who were playing in Thu-Khi-Tha monastery compounds located in Kyoi Chan village.
“There were 13 gunshots in total. A villager grabbed one of the men when he ran out of bullets, and the villagers surrounded him while the other man attempted to flee the scene. The villagers and police began to search for him, … the man was finally caught by the police and villagers in front of Maha Baw Dhi pagoda on his way back to [try and ] rescue his senior,” U Myint Aung added.
According to the Paung Township police report, one MA-13 gun, one M-16 rifle, and 17 rounds of ammunition were seized from the two BGF members.
Those two men are Hla Tun, Military service no. 101996 and Aung Ze Lin, Military service no. 111131. Both are soldiers from the Border Guard Forces (BGF) No. 1003-Ka Line Thi sub-township in Karen State. The Paung Township police have returned the confiscated weapons and bullets to the BGF No. 1003.
The arrest of two Karen BGF members who fired a gunshot (photo: Nat-Thar)
According to the Paung Township police, the two BGF members were in the area to attend a quarterly meeting with the battalion commander Colonel Hla Myine from Ka Dine Ti, of Karen state to the Southeast Command based in Mawlamyine, Mon State. The incident happened after the Colonel had arranged for the two men to stay at his friend’s house located in Mu Kyi village, Beh Bwe Kone village tract in the Paung Township on October 18th.
