A disturbing incident has occurred in Thaketa Township, Yangon Region, where local ward administrators forcibly recruited a mentally ill young man for military service. The victim, 25-year-old Maung Thet Tin, is known to suffer from mental health issues and had recently lost both his parents. He had been living alone near the Thaketa football field when the incident took place.
On the evening of July 10, Ward Administrator Min Min and his team from South Ward 4 of Thaketa Township forcibly entered Maung Thet Tin’s residence. When he refused to accompany them, they reportedly beat him and forcibly took him away to be enlisted in the military. The ward administration carried out this forced recruitment despite being fully aware of Maung Thet Tin’s mental health condition.
According to local residents, Ward Administrator Min Min and his team had allegedly received 8 million kyats (approximately USD 4,000) from the parents of another young man who was supposed to be recruited for military service. Instead of taking that person, they chose to arrest Maung Thet Tin as a replacement. Although Maung Thet Tin has surviving relatives, they are reportedly too afraid to speak out against the ward administrator and his team, fearing potential repercussions.
The Ward Administrator Min Min and his team have a documented history of exploiting local residents through various means, including collecting illegal fees for military service exemption, forcibly recruiting young people for military service, engaging in the trading of military service substitutes, and accepting bribes to allow gambling and lottery operations in the area. Local residents state that this forced recruitment of a mentally ill person is just one example of their inhumane actions against the civilian population. The incident has highlighted the ongoing issues of forced military recruitment and abuse of power by local authorities acting under the military council’s direction.
