Military Council Seizes Unattended Car Left on Road for a Long Time

Mekong, September 14 It has been learned from sources that an unattended car, which had been parked for a long time on the Loilem-Namhsan road in southern Shan State, has been seized by the Military Council. A car that had been parked for a long time at mile post 172/7 on the Loilem-Namhsan road was seized by a Military Council unit on September 12, after being discovered on September 11. "It had been parked on the roadside like that for four or five days. So, the police went and seized it, and now it's at the police station. The police said that if there's no license, they will confiscate it permanently. But as you know, most of the cars here are without licenses. I don't know if they moved it because they wanted the car," said a source familiar with the incident. Due to Myanmar's car import policies, car prices have become exorbitantly high, forcing most people in Shan State to purchase used Japanese cars imported through Thailand, which are often unlicensed, for hundreds of thousands of kyats, and use them for their livelihoods, social needs, and economic activities. Taking advantage of this situation, police forces under the Military Council are engaging in various forms of corruption, such as demanding money under various pretexts, collecting regular fees, and confiscating cars for personal gain.