A concerning incident has emerged from Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar Township, where two young men were deceived into military recruitment under the false pretense of security guard positions at the Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone with promised monthly salaries of 510,000 kyats. The victims, identified as Maung Zaw Htet Lin and Maung Ye Naung, both 25 years old from Thanatpin Township in Bago Region, responded to a job advertisement for security positions at the industrial zone. After contacting the phone number provided in the flyer, they were instructed to travel to Yangon.
The two young men arrived in Yangon on May 4th and were met in Hlaing Tharyar by two men in civilian clothes on motorcycles. They were subsequently transported via taxi to the military recruitment center in Danyingone, Insein Township. Their mobile phones were confiscated upon arrival, and it wasn’t until May 8th that they managed to contact their families using a soldier’s phone at the recruitment center for a fee. Prior to their journey to Yangon, they had been required to submit their biographical information and photographs via Viber messaging application. They were initially told they would need to undergo three months of training before starting work as security guards, but instead found themselves forcibly enlisted in military training.
A friend of the detained young men explained that they were promised security positions after completing what was described as a training period. However, upon arrival, they discovered they had been deceived and were now being forced to undergo military training with no option to refuse. The two young men are scheduled to attend the 13th intake of military training beginning this month. This incident highlights the ongoing practice of deceptive recruitment tactics being used to force young people into military service, with false promises of legitimate employment opportunities being used to lure unsuspecting victims. The friend also warned others to be wary of job advertisements promising high salaries, emphasizing that such offers could be traps for forced military recruitment.
