Residents in Mon State who were arrested for driving unlicensed vehicles are reportedly being forced to pay frequent bribes to military junta police stations, according to family members of the detainees.
Since July, traffic police and soldiers under the military junta’s command have been conducting inspections and arrests of unlicensed vehicles across Mon and Karen states. Sources estimate that hundreds of people have been detained and fined during this period.
Some detainees were released after paying money, while others, unable to afford the payments, remain in custody along with their vehicles.
Those who have been arrested said they were required to provide their home addresses and phone numbers to junta police and security personnel. They are now frequently called back to local police stations, where officers continue to demand money under various pretexts, according to relatives of those affected.
“They said they were calling us to settle the case, but they never closed it. They already have our addresses and numbers. Every few days, they summon us, not for a real meeting, but to extort money. If we refuse to pay, they threaten us with prison,” one family member said.
Some residents said that even after paying tens of thousands of kyats, police stations continued to summon them a few days later for more money.
Earlier this month, three youths from Mudon Township were arrested for driving unlicensed motorcycles during the Kyaik Khami Pagoda Festival. They were later released after paying a total of 90 lakhs kyats to Mudon police, according to one of the detainees and his family.
“At first, the police said we needed to pay 30 lakhs kyats to get the motorcycle back, so our parents sent the money. But they didn’t return the bike. Later, they said we had to pay another 60 lakhs kyats if we wanted both the vehicle and the person released. We ended up paying 90 lakhs kyats in total,” the family said.
Those unable to pay have reportedly been detained for several months, with some being sent to military training camps, according to accounts from recently released detainees.
The junta’s campaign to seize unlicensed vehicles, reportedly launched under an order from Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, has become a major source of income for local military and police units. Daily checkpoints continue to operate at road junctions and city entry gates across Mon State.
As a result, farm owners and workers near these checkpoints say they face difficulties traveling to their plantations because of constant inspections and extortion.
