Police officer in Thapaung demanding exorbitant fees from shopkeepers and locals

In villages within Thapaung Township, Ayeyarwaddy Region, a local police officer is reportedly extorting exorbitant fees and bribes from residents and shopkeepers. Phol Pyit, a local police officer from the Ba Gone (Phayargone) police station in Thapaung Township, has been going to villages such as Wan Lo, Kwe Gon Sun, San Chaung, Taung Tet Gyi, Anan Gone, and Bwa Gyi Kyaw since August 30 to demand money, according to sources. The collections have been forcibly levied as exorbitant fees from woodcutters, charcoal burners, trekkers, grocery stores selling cooking oil and gasoline, liquor shops, and sellers of two-digit/three-digit lotteries. "For grocery stores, they collect by citing the sale of cooking oil and gasoline. If they refuse to pay and argue, they are accused of supporting the PDF (People's Defence Force) and face arrest or shop closure, so they have to pay even if they don't want to," a local source told the Irrawaddy Times. It is also reported that those who engage in trekking, charcoal burning, and woodcutting are being asked to pay monthly fees, and if they do not pay, they are threatened with arrest, accused of supporting revolutionary forces. "Phol Pyit is the local police officer. He doesn't do anything beneficial for the area and just goes around collecting fees. They are paying money out of fear of being listed as supporters if they don't pay," the source said. In this time of economic hardship, if shops are closed due to the authorities' threats, it could lead to difficulties in the livelihoods of local residents, and it is also inconvenient for them to travel to Ba Gone village to buy daily necessities, according to local residents. Photo: Social media