Two young men were deceived and forcibly recruited into a military training camp after responding to a job advertisement for security personnel at the Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone in Hlaing Tharyar Township, Yangon Region. The position had promised a monthly salary of 510,000 kyats. Friends of the detained young men have revealed details about this deceptive recruitment scheme to local media.
Maung Zaw Htet Lin and Maung Ye Naung, both 25 years old from Thanatpin Township in Bago Region, contacted the phone number listed on a job advertisement flyer for security positions at the Shwe Lin Ban Industrial Zone in Hlaing Tharyar. They arrived in Yangon on May 4, but contact with them was lost by that evening. It wasn’t until May 8 that they were able to inform their families that they had been taken to the Danyin Gone military recruitment camp in Insein Township.
A friend of the detained young men explained that they were initially told they would need to undergo three months of training to work as security personnel. However, they later discovered this was actually military training, and they were no longer allowed to refuse. Before traveling to Yangon, the two young men had been required to send their personal information and photographs via Viber. Upon arriving in Hlaing Tharyar, they were met by two men in civilian clothes on motorcycles who then transferred them to a hired vehicle that took them to the Danyin Gone recruitment camp.
The military confiscated their mobile phones upon arrival at the camp. It wasn’t until May 8 that they were able to contact their families by paying to use a soldier’s phone within the camp. The two young men are scheduled to attend the 13th intake of military training beginning this month. Friends of the victims have warned others to be cautious of such deceptive recruitment tactics and to thoroughly investigate job offers that promise attractive salaries, emphasizing the importance of verifying employment opportunities to prevent similar incidents from occurring to other young people.
