• Burmese
Friday, July 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Bogus ‘Crime Reporters’ Arrested for Extorting Villagers in Sagaing

Zarni Mann by Zarni Mann
June 27, 2018
in Burma
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
The ID card of a Myanmar Crime Reporters Association member. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

The ID card of a Myanmar Crime Reporters Association member. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

3.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

MANDALAY – Four members of a controversial “crime reporters” group were arrested in Banmauk Township in Katha District of Sagaing Division on June 25 on suspicion of extorting money from villagers, the Ministry of Home Affairs said Tuesday.

Zaw Lin Tun, chairman of the Katha district sub-office of the Myanmar Crime Reporters Association in Banmauk, and three others were found to have extorted 500,000 kyats from four residents of Aung Thar Gone village, according to the ministry.

The officers who arrested the crime reporters told The Irrawaddy that villagers from Aung Thar Gone had purchased wood to make furniture for a village school. The reporters told the villagers that if they didn’t pay the reporters, they would take them to police and accuse them of possessing illegal logs.

RelatedPosts

‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

July 14, 2025
1k
Myanmar, Thailand Ramp Up Cooperation on Border Issues

Myanmar, Thailand Ramp Up Cooperation on Border Issues

July 4, 2025
1.7k
Indonesian Influencer Given 7-Year Myanmar Prison Sentence

Indonesian Influencer Given 7-Year Myanmar Prison Sentence

July 3, 2025
1.3k

“The locals just bought old pieces of wood for their village school. However, they paid the 500,000 kyats, as they felt threatened,” said the duty officer at Banmauk Police Station.

“It happened on June 22. Villager U Aung Tun reported the case and we arrested the reporters on June 25 and seized the money, the vehicles they used to follow the locals and their [Crime Reporters Association] uniforms,” the duty officer explained.

According to the police, the four members of the association illegally detained the locals at their office. The “reporters” are currently in custody and police plan to file lawsuits against them under the penal code for illegally detaining and threatening the locals.

The accused face one to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Most Myanmar Crime Reporters Association members work for journals specializing in crime-related news. The association was founded in 2016 and opened many branch offices across the country. Its members wear uniforms whose color and logos resemble those on police uniforms.

The association has attracted much criticism nationwide, especially from genuine news reporters, who fear their professional image could be damaged by the activities of some of the association members. In remote parts of the country, some of these “crime reporters” are notorious for extorting money from “sources” and for threatening locals with lawsuits. Such cases have been increasing lately.

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a warning on June 16 that reporters, including those from the Myanmar Crime Reporters Association, must not wear uniforms that could be mistaken for those of police or other security forces, act as brokers at the courts, or extort others. It threatened to take legal action against anyone who did so.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Crimenews media
Zarni Mann

Zarni Mann

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar’s BGF: A Family-Run Criminal Enterprise With Friends Across Asia
Burma

Myanmar’s BGF: A Family-Run Criminal Enterprise With Friends Across Asia

by The Irrawaddy
May 22, 2024
37.6k

A new report by JFM spotlights the organized crime empire of junta-allied Karen warlord Saw Chit Thu and his family,...

Read moreDetails
Notorious Myanmar Arms Broker Convicted of Cash Smuggling in Singapore 
Burma

Notorious Myanmar Arms Broker Convicted of Cash Smuggling in Singapore 

by The Irrawaddy
January 8, 2024
28.8k

US-sanctioned Kyaw Min Oo and two accomplices were caught at Changi airport with over half a million dollars.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Detains Generals Who Surrendered to Resistance in Laukkai
Burma

Myanmar Junta Detains Generals Who Surrendered to Resistance in Laukkai

by The Irrawaddy
January 8, 2024
24k

The detention of the six brigadier generals is required under the military’s rules following last week’s surrender to the MNDAA,...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption
Junta Cronies

Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
October 18, 2023
15.9k

Regime cronies Thein Win Zaw and Mu Mu Shein are set to follow former lieutenant general Moe Myint Tun as...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Karen BGF Launches ‘Scam Crackdown’ After Chinese Celebs Abducted
Burma

Myanmar’s Karen BGF Launches ‘Scam Crackdown’ After Chinese Celebs Abducted

by Maung Kavi
January 16, 2025
14.9k

Junta-affiliated militia overseeing notorious transnational crime hub issues ‘clean-up’ message to Chinese tycoons in Myawaddy.  

Read moreDetails
Notorious Cybercrime Boss ‘Kills Himself’ in Myanmar Border Scam Town  
Burma

Notorious Cybercrime Boss ‘Kills Himself’ in Myanmar Border Scam Town  

by The Irrawaddy
November 17, 2023
9.6k

Ming Xuechang, wanted by China over telecom and online scams in Kokang’s Laukkai that targeted Chinese citizens, shot himself while...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Lawmaker Daw May Win Myint (second from right) attends the NLD party congress in Yangon on Saturday. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy

NLD Struggles to Field Female Candidates for By-Election, Aims for 2020

Members of the FPNCC meet in Pangsan, the capital of the Wa region in northern Shan State, in March. / FPNCC / Facebook

Army Maintains ‘Divide and Conquer’ Approach to Ethnic Alliances

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

3 days ago
1.4k
Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

1 day ago
1.3k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Karen Fighters Push for Myanmar Junta Outpost on Thai Border

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Belarus Universities Teach Myanmar Junta How to Kill: JFM

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.