SHAN STATE – House owners in Hpamon Village, Taunggyi Township, southern Shan State whose houses were ordered to be demolished for the construction of junta strategic base revealed that they have to pay 100,000 Kyats per house for court appointments.
Houses in the western wards of Taunggyi on the edge of the cliffs and the houses in Hpamon Village were declared to be squatters and ordered to be demolished by the junta council in August for the construction of junta strategic base.
A resident of the village explained that the “100,000 Kyats is not lawyer fee but a service fee collected by the lawyer so that the owner won’t need to attend the court dates. They may share it with the judge. We will have to pay the lawyer fee during the hearing of the case.”
Junta general administration department sent notices to demolish in 15 days to those houses on July 13 and again on July 25 but the demolition is currently on hold as the residents have brought the case to the court.
There are up to 70 houses in Hpamon Village were ordered to be demolished and it is said that House owners without proper documents need two houses owners with documents to guarantee for them.
“The guarantee was an advice by the lawyer. It doesn’t mean the house won’t be demolished. It just serves to guarantee the ownership for the hearing. The judge probably also got a cut. It probably won’t go well. Even houses with documents in Mandalay were demolished,” said a resident of the village.
Similarly, house owners from Sao San Tun, Yadanar Thiri, Chanmyathazi, Shwetaung, Seinpan and Nyaungphyusakhan Wards also had to submit appeals and the Nyaungphyu administration officer and PNO member Khun Kyaw San reportedly demanded 200,000 Kyats from each house.
The junta council is planning to construct two strategic bases in Taunggyi, one near Taunggyi Hotel on Mya Sein Mountain and another on the edge of the cliff in abovementioned wards, according to departmental sources.
