Businesses blackmailed in Mon State

By DMG 27 Aug 2022

DMG Newsroom
27 August 2022, Mawlamyine

At least 15 cases of blackmail have been reported in Mon State’s Mawlamyine and Mudon townships this month, in which the perpetrators threatened to attack businesses, according to local residents.

A gold shop owner from Phet Tan ward in the Mon State capital Mawlamyine received an anonymous call on August 24 in which the caller threatened to blow up his shop, temporarily shuttering all of the gold shops in the neighbourhood, said a ward resident.

“The caller demanded money from the gold shop owner, and threatened to blow up his shop if the money was not given. All the gold shop owners then closed their shops,” he said.

Many gold shop owners at markets in Phet Tan ward have also reported blackmailing. There have been at least 14 cases of blackmail reported to police, but none of the cases has been solved yet.

A gold shop owner who was threatened said: “Not only me but many other gold shop owners have reported that they also received anonymous calls that threaten to attack their shops. We have reported it to the police, but nothing happened.”

Other businesses have also reported being blackmailed or robbed.

“There are also armed robberies. My acquaintance was killed in an armed robbery,” said a ship owner from Mawlamyine.

In Mudon also, many gold shops had to close after a gold shop owner received a threat from an anonymous group recently.