Mawlamyine, 20 October
Police and junta administrative officials have been checking the overnight guests for security reasons and extorting money from them in Mon State’s Mawlamyine since the first week of this month, locals told Than Lwin Times.
The military council has been conducting household inspections on the pretext that members of the People’s Defense Force (PDF) may be hiding in neighborhoods in Mawlamyine.
The authorities cross-check the residents with the household list, and if they find people living without registration, they arrest them and demand huge sums of money from them.
The police and administrative officials demand 100,000 to 400,000 kyats from a person who does not report staying overnight, and those who fail to pay will be prosecuted for violating the Household Guest Registration Law as well as the curfew order.
While checking the overnight guests, the officials mainly check the populated areas, as well as the houses, dormitories, and hostels where the migrant workers live.
Furthermore, neighbors claim that the military council is monitoring houses with lots of visitors using CCTV installed on the streets, checking overnight guests, and arresting suspicious youths.
The Household Guest Registration Law, which had been implemented by successive military governments, was repealed by the NLD government in 2016 due to violations of human rights standards.
However, following the 2021 military coup, the military council reinstated the Household Guest Registration Law, and it has been reported that visitors who fail to report for overnight stays may face seven days in prison, a ten thousand kyat fine, or both.
News-Than Lwin Times
Photo – IPRD