Sunday, October 11, 2009

Ousted Rangoon police chief detained in Insein Prison

By Myo Thein, Mizzima News.

Rangoon (Mizzima) – The Rangoon Division Police Chief Pol. Col. Win Naing, who was summarily removed from his post for corruption and because of internal rivalry in the Home Ministry, is being detained in the special ward of the Insein Prison, prison officials said.

“He is being held here for about a week. Even jailor rank prison department officials can’t visit this special ward,” an official from the notorious prison said.

The Kyauktada Township Police Station Chief and township police officer are being also held along with Pol. Col. Win Naing.

Pol. Col. Win Naing was questioned in connection with his wife’s beauty parlours and bribery cases. A source from the Home Ministry said that he fled to a foreign country when his suspension process was on and was being questioned. Then the Police Chief Khin Yi had to take him into custody, the source said.

He fled to Bangkok, Thailand but it could not be independently verified.

Win Naing was notorious for forcing his subordinates in Rangoon Division and their families to visit the beauty parlours run by his wife.

“Yes, it’s true. The Latha Township police station had to send our families to these beauty parlours. The minimum price for a simple hair cut is Kyat 3,000 and hair washing costs Kyat 3, 000,” a police personnel from Latha police station said.

The source from Rangoon Divisional police force said that Kyauktada Township Station House Officer was punished for allowing four massage parlours to run while all other massage parlours, Karaoke clubs and night clubs were forced to close during the special operation starting from the second week of September to early October.

Regarding Police Chief Khin Yi, the assistant superintendant officer from the Divisional Police force said, “As soon as Win Naing was arrested, the police chief requested higher officials to grant him bail. We heard that Win Naing was released on bail while he was being interrogated in Naypyitaw. Then we learnt that our Police Chief was also questioned when Win Naing jumped bail”.

The rumour of the Police Chief being arrested spread like wild fire when the junta mouthpiece daily newspapers reported that the 45th police force founding anniversary held on October 3 in Nyapyitaw (new capital city) was attended only by the Deputy Police Chief Pol. Brig. Gen. Zaw Win, Attorney General Aye Maung and Home Minister Maj. Gen. Maung Oo. He was absent on the occasion.

The junta’s censor board forced local private media to reprint the news of the Police Chief Khin Yi inspecting police stations in Rangoon Division on September 29 and 30 along with photographs which appeared in state-run daily papers.

“Yes, the censor board gave us a three-paragraph short news with a news photograph and ordered us to print it in our publications,” an editor of a local weekly journal said.

The people are keen to know about the internal power struggle in the Home Ministry and police force, which is now using motor cycles painted in saffron.

The banned massage parlours, karaoke clubs and night clubs have reopened now.

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