Armed robberies are on the rise in Pekhon Township, on southern Shan State’s border with Karenni (Kayah) State, causing concern among locals.
A group of men robbed the Myat Sadana tool shop on September 28, stealing 1 million kyat (US$476). The shopkeeper said he recognised one of the perpetrators as police sergeant Myo Min Aung from the Pekhon Central Police Station, noting that he was not wearing a mask or concealing his face.
The police officer had once been a customer of the business, he explained.
When the shopkeeper went to the police station to report the crime, he told Myanmar Now that Myo Min Aung was present, openly counting money that the man assumed had been taken from his store.
“This is only going to get worse if we don’t report it. It has become clear as day,” he said.
Myo Min Aung was reportedly detained by his colleagues at the Pekhon Central Police Station and returned the stolen funds to the shopkeeper.
Myanmar Now tried to contact the police station for comment on the case, but the calls went unanswered.
Locals claimed that another store located on the Pekhon exit of the highway to the town of Moebye was robbed days before the tool shop, but the amount of money stolen was not confirmed at the time of reporting.
Travelers have also reported robberies on the road between the villages of Khaung Mine Htet and Htin Shu Kone in southern Pekhon.
“The robbers stop the cars and ask for money from the passengers at knifepoint,” said a woman who has been displaced by military offensives and has sought refuge in Pekhon. “We don’t know if it is being done by a lone perpetrator or several of them.”
Fearful of being targeted, people in the Pekhon area are increasingly refraining from leaving their homes in the evening, she added.
