Yangon – Tachileik police near the border with Thailand in Myanmar’s Shan State have wrongly opened fire on a vehicle on suspicion it was carrying drugs.
Parliamentarian U Khin Maung Tint told The Irrawaddy that the incident involved a woman who was driving home on Wednesday morning from a donation ceremony at the Maing Phone monastery in Wan Pon Village in Tachileik Township.
Police claimed that they believed her pickup truck had tried to avoid a checkpoint and was involved in drug smuggling.
The ethnic Shan Nan Khan Malee, 40, said she turned around because she thought she was being asked to stop by the police.
After the shooting, she drove back to the monastery.
According to a video received by The Irrawaddy, the police reached the pickup at the monastery and found nothing suspicious.
An anonymous witness said the police had already apologized to the woman and offered to pay for repairs to the vehicle.
The woman is reportedly looking to report the incident to the authorities.
The vehicle was hit by three bullets, said U Khin Maung Tint, who visited the scene.
“Security is an issue but the police should not open fire on any suspect,” he said.
He criticized the police for opening a checkpoint without informing village heads and the border guard forces.
The police declined to comment.
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