Two volunteer teachers who supporters say were wrongly arrested on suspicion of helping with a rebel attack on a Myanmar military college in Pyin Oo Lwin have been released on bail.
Brothers Khun Mai, 28, and Leng Sink, 24 were detained following an audacious ambush by Northern Alliance rebels on the Defense Services Technological Academy that left 15 people dead on August 15.
Officers from the military security affairs unit confiscated walkie talkies, camouflage bedding, a laptop and other items when they raided the brothers’ family home on August 17.
The men have been charged under Section 67 of the Communications Law and were released on bail Monday, said sub-inspector Ye Maung of Pyinsa police station.
The section punishes possession of restricted communications equipment without a license and carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a fine.
The sub-inspector said he was not aware of the results of the investigation or the details of the charges against the men. He also did not know when their next court hearing would be, he said.
Saw Hla, the men’s father, said the decision to grant bail came following a request from the family. “They were not threatened during the interrogation,” he added.
Khun Mai and Leng Sink teach languages at the Kaw Dai School in Kunhing Township, southern Shan State. Khun Mai has worked there since 2007 while Leng Sink joined his brother there two years later, said Hpone Khaung, the school’s founder.
