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Myawaddy Township, Meeting with Saw Zin Maung, a journalist who was threatened and beaten up by gang members for writing and exposing the money laundering gangs based in Shwe Kuk Kol New Town.
D Day News
Karen State Myawaddy Township The members of the international financial fraud gang called Tiger Pan, based in the new city of Shwe Kuk Kol, communicate through social media pages and threaten. cheating There are deliberate threats to make appointments until their lives are in danger, as well as those who work in money fraud gangs are not allowed to leave the place. In addition to sexual abuse, there are reports of arrests and abuses until life is threatened.
Regarding such threats, Ko Saw Zin Maung, a freelance journalist who exposed and wrote news about the money laundering gang last August, has personally experienced threats to his life.
D-Day News contacted Ko Saw Zin Maung, a freelance journalist who personally experienced the threat.
D-Day News. . Hello Saw Zin Maung. Hearing the news is really worrying. Are you currently in a safe place?
Ko Saw Zin Maung. . Yes, it does not mean that I am safe at the moment. But I would like to say that we still have to be careful about safety.
D-Day News. . Saw Zin Maung Ko Saw Zin Maung was threatened with death for writing news about the money laundering gang.
Ko Saw Zin Maung. . As for me, I had to thoroughly investigate for about a month before starting to write news about the online money scam gang. I am currently working as a local reporter for every Erawati, so it is quite difficult to test. However, with the help of the local people and the people who were forced to participate in the distribution work, it was convenient to report many cases. Through that, Ayeyarwaddy Times started to publish news for the first time. The news started in May. Also, I was able to issue more news from the Young Age News Department. That was in June. After that, I was constantly contacted by unknown phone numbers through Telegram.
Since June. I’ve had this experience before, so I assumed it was normal and ignored it. After those threats, I was given an appointment in the previous month of August until my life was in danger. I was assassinated. Also, in this month, they sent messages to me and my family through Telegram and made six appointments.
D-Day New. . This means that you still have to face the six appointments until now. What kind of things did they do, including being threatened with death and being assassinated?
Ko Saw Zin Maung. . When I was harassed for the first time, as I told you earlier, I used to talk through Telegram and then send messages through Facebook and make phone calls. As for me, I have experienced things in the past, so I pretended not to know. But he started doing it in a different way. As for me, I still don’t think they’ve contacted each other. Just kidding like this, of course. That is from May to the end of June. Around July, I stopped making contact. But around the end of the month, an unknown person made a video call to me through Telegram. Called suddenly and dropped back. When he saw my face for sure, he went back down and didn’t bring me any more. When I looked at the account, the blog was gone. The number doesn’t show up when I check in. I didn’t even have time to take a screenshot. Instant account deletion. It was only then that I realized something special.
And then, in August, the first week or so, nothing has changed. But in the second week, around August 11th, I started sending letters. The phone calls came in. I remember the news interview calls.
The letters already know who I am. He said that over and over again. Also, don’t write news about the tiger spread gang again. If you do, you will risk your life. I didn’t inform my wife about those issues either. What about other family members? Just kidding, I deleted the messages they sent. But on August 20th, he started sending messages from Signal under the name Yat Kha. I was surprised at that. Sent again the next day. But as soon as the letters were sent, they were canceled. I didn’t pay any attention to that, and on August 22nd , I made an appointment with No. (2) Bridge under the name of my mother-in-law. I can’t come with that When I asked where it was, they told me it was Hon Fai Village, and I had to go with their appointment to come to the dam from Hon Fai Village. When I got there, I was attacked. In this month, he is still working on six appointments.
D-Day News. . They attacked Saw Zin Maung after the appointment. How many of the assassins did you see? And what did they come with? How did you go about harming Saw Zin Maung?
Saw Zin Maung. In their letter, it was about 2 o’clock in the afternoon in the forest on the side of Hon Fai village dam. Who am I? I wanted to know how people would go, so I went. There are Toyota Hilux Double Cap modern high type cars. I saw an orange car and a black striped car coming up towards the dam. There are about 7 people. He also contacted me by phone. I thought I didn’t do anything with that, and then I came out. There, the two of them held me back from the shoulder to the arm. At that time, I noticed that they had guns in their hands. I think it’s a pistol type. I can’t get out. I don’t know who is the leader of them. A tall white man started punching my face. And he showed me pictures. The news articles about the money laundering gang that I wrote. And they show pictures of their workers. Do I know those people? I asked if I wrote the news. While I was asking, the two arrestees bowed to my knees. And the other three hit their faces and heads with their knees. punched. When I fell down, I couldn’t tell who it was. What about round kicking? Then I checked my phone. He didn’t take the phone. I must have found nothing. They must have heard me before they left. One of them put a gun on his head and said, “This is the last warning. There is no more, Next time, you’ll die.”
After saying something like that, they went back to the Dam.
D Day News: Why did Ko Saw Zin Maung go to the appointment place despite being harassed many times before? How did you decide to go with Ko Saw Zin Maung knowing that you were in danger? Can you answer that?
Saw Zin Maung: Why do I have to go to such an appointment because it’s my family members rather than me? There will be more danger to my woman who is currently near me. Also, I want to know the people who threatened me. I want to know more about why they threatened me like this. That’s why I went. And what kind of decision I made, mainly because my wife, I thought it would be better to deal with it myself because I was afraid that my family members would be in danger. Just decide for myself and go. And the threats I have faced before, These are considered normal, Like normal, I thought nothing was enough, I thought it was a normal occurrence. But in the actual process, I was threatened until my life was in danger.
D-Day News: Also, I want to know one more thing. In addition to Saw Zin Maung, the woman was also threatened by the money laundering gang. So far, are the threats still being made?
Saw Zin Maung: Yes. After I was attacked, there were no further threats until the end of August. But in this month of September, my wife and I were sent threatening messages via Telegram again. He sent me a message first. Also, they sent me a letter to my wife again. After that, I didn’t do any other appointments again. But the situation is still under observation.
D-Day News : Saw Zin Maung had to be assassinated, so who did you contact first and what did you do? Also, have you done anything to connect the organizations yet?
Saw Zin Maung: After I was beaten, I tried to return home. Later, I called my wife to inform her. My wife is currently helping a refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border, so I was able to communicate via Viber. Also, I had to see a mental health specialist. I was very scared. My mental health condition was not good enough, so I asked a friend’s doctor for help. Other organizations have informed the IMJA and MJC organizations. But so far no help has been given..
D-Day News: Did Saw Zin Maung inform other organizations such as the UN and ask for help when he was faced with such arrests and assassinations? What is their response?
Saw Zin Maung: After I was attacked, I asked other journalist organizations for help. More than that, due to my mental condition, I had to try again, and now I am working to contact organizations like the UN. At present, let me say that I am still trying to get in touch. Also, not only me, but also my wife, who is a CDM Nurse, had to escape together. She is worried because of being harassed like this. I am hoping that international organizations will provide some kind of help.
D-Day News : Lastly, is there anything else you would like to add?
Saw Zin Maung: In addition, since I am a freelance journalist, I will always report the truth to the people. For that reason, I have been arrested by the Myanmar Military Council. The house was sealed. Also, when I worked at the Development Media Group (DMG) news agency, the office was raided because the Burmese Military Council was not satisfied with the news coverage of the 1027 operation by other journalists. And what about the reporters and editors of the news department, including myself, under Section 505-A of the Penal Code. Section 52(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Act; I has been charged under Section 67 of the Communications Act and an arrest warrant has been issued. Now, I have to deal with the risk of my life for publishing news about the money laundering gang. That’s why I will always expose injustices and write news. However, I am worried that it is too dangerous for me and my wife to live in Thailand. If possible, I would like to move to a safe country. If we don’t get the chance to go to the dance, it’s just luck. But I would like to say that I will continue to expose and write news about injustice.
D Day News
