Taunggyi Ward Posts Sold for Cash; Ward Clerks Extort Hundreds of Thousands as 'Conscription Fees'

In Taunggyi, ward clerks pay bribes for postings in lucrative neighborhoods, while village tract clerks extort hundreds of lakhs in the name of military service fees

September 8

It is learned that the Township Administrator has been taking money in connection with the rotation of general administration ward/village tract clerks within Taunggyi Township, Shan State, and facilitating their transfers.

Ward/village tract clerks reportedly have to pay the Township General Administration Department's Township Administrator, U Yan Naing Tun, sums exceeding one million kyats if they want postings in good locations on the town with lucrative earning opportunities.

"To get posted in the good wards in town — Kankyi Ward, Yay-ay-kwin Ward, Kan-shay Ward, Hpayar-byu Ward, Nyaung-byu-sa-khan Ward, and Lan-ma-taw Ward — you have to pay the Township Administrator. He accepts payment via KPay. Later, when that news surfaced online, he called the ward/village tract clerks to a meeting and made them sign statements declaring they had no involvement in financial irregularities," a person close to the administration told the news outlet.

Ma Ei Khin, a clerk currently posted at Kan-shay Ward office in Taunggyi, had only recently been transferred from Lan-ma-taw Ward in early August. Together with Kan-shay Ward Administrator U Ba Phyu, she allegedly extorted 17 million kyats from two households in Kan-shay Ward in late August, telling them it was to avoid conscription.

"Clerk Ma Ei Khin went to the parents of two young men in Kan-shay Ward and said they would be drafted in the upcoming conscription cycle. If they didn't want to go, they had to pay 850,000 kyats each. She extorted 1.7 million kyats from both households combined. She told them not to tell anyone about this matter. If they spoke out, she threatened they would be put on the next conscription list," a person close to the families told the news outlet.

It is learned that ward clerk Ma Ei Khin shared the money received with Ward Administrator U Ba Phyu. Ma Ei Khin is reportedly quite close to the Township Administrator's wife and serves as her trusted confidante, which is why Township Administrator U Yan Naing Tun is aware of these threats and extortions but turns a blind eye.