MAGWAY DIVISION – Residents told the media that the administrator of Thayet District allowed the operation of oil wells in Minhla City after taking large sums of bribes.
In 2019, (Mr.) Tin Myo Lat had been demoted to administrative officer from the rank of military captain. Although the oil wells have been closed down by the military council, those wells that have paid him bribes are allowed to drill day and night.
“The oil drills have been shut down, but their partner oil wells are pumping day and night. The district administrator has been meeting General Aung Lin Dwe and bribing him. He also has been bribing not to get transferred due to bribe-taking. His transfer letter was already received by the head office but General Aung Lin Dwe personally asked to withdraw it.
The person who connected him to General Aung Lin Dwe was Captain Soe Nyunt (from the DSA 28 batch). The administrator Tin Myo Latt reportedly offered Captain Soe Nyunt the right to operate oil and other industries in his administrative area,” reported the locals.
According to the residents, if one wants to dig for oil, one could do so with the permission of the administrator. He had been paid a lot of money for the approval of oil drilling, and his partner’s oil field is mainly drilling in the Banpyin area and as much as 30 lakhs have been paid for permission to drill oil.
There are up to 36 locals who have been filed criminal charges as they sneaked in to drill oil without paying bribes to him.
“The thirty six people who were arrested in the Tazikauk Oil Drill are now facing trials in Thayet Court. Those people are from the village who were arrested for oil drilling,” said a local.