In a bid at extortion, seven passenger cars were stopped and fined heavily this week on the Myitkyina-Laiza border trade route in Burma's northern Kachin State by Burmese Army soldiers. The practice had stopped on the route for over two months, said local sources.
All the Toyota Hilux passenger pick-ups were detained at the entrance of Aung Me Thit on November 3 by Burmese soldiers, while the pick-ups were heading towards Myitkyina from Laiza, said sources close to the car owners.
The pick-up trucks were carrying both passengers and Chinese goods from Laiza, the border business centre and capital of Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), said sources.
Each pick-up owner was fined 500,000 Kyat (US$474) for carrying Chinese goods, which were also seized by Burmese soldiers. The fine and Chinese goods seized, will be worth over 2 million Kyat (US$1,896), according to the owners of the cars.
So far, the Burmese soldiers, who stopped and fined the passenger cars, have not been identified. Aung May Thit is under the control of Shwe Nyaung Pyin-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 321, said local people.
"For extra income, Burmese soldiers occasionally stop and forcibly demand cash from drivers of cars carrying both passengers and goods between Myitkyina and Laiza. Sometimes, soldiers from the Myitkyina-based Northern Regional Command (Ma-Pa-Kha) stop and fine passenger cars on the route", a local trader told KNG today.
In Kachin State, people mainly rely on Chinese goods such as dry food, snacks, garlic, cloth, oil, construction materials and motorcycles transported from Laiza. However, transporting Chinese goods has never been legal or authorized from the KIO's Laiza except from the 105 Miles Border Trade Zone in Muse in Northeast Shan State by the Burmese ruling junta, said local traders.
As a part of stopping soldiers from deserting, the Burmese Army in a limited way allows soldiers in principle to make some extra income by fleecing civilians and businessmen in different ways, said sources close to local soldiers.
In Kachin State, a Burmese soldier can collect about 1 million Kyat (US$947) if he is sent to the frontlines or areas away from military bases under a rotation system every three or four months, according to the sources.
Interestingly, Burmese soldiers in Kachin State get more opportunities for making money rather than Burmese soldiers in other regions in the country, said the sources. So, many Burmese soldiers would like to serve in Kachin State, added sources.
