Independent Mon News Agency (IMNA)

August 15, 2003

Commander of Southeast Command Maj. Gen. Thura Myint Aung took money from medical doctors

Commander of Southeast Command, Maj. Gen. Thura Myint Aung involved in wider corruption taking money from medical doctors in the capital of Mon State, Moulmein, to permit them for operating of their private clinics.

In the period while he is in Southeast Command or in the position of Chairman of Mon State Peace and Development Council, he would has allowed these private clinics to operate but he took some million Kyat of money from the medical doctors secretly.

The commander took about 2.5 million Kyat from a well-known Dr. Nyein Kyaw, an expert for disease research and took about 2 million for a well-known surgery expert, Dr. U Tin.

The money are not official tax that they had to pay to the Commander to get permission to operate their clinics, said by a person who close to one doctor.

The commander took money not only from these well-known medical doctors, but he also took money from many other doctors. Because of this payment, the medical doctors charged more costs from patients in their treatment, said by that person.

Maj. Gen. Thura Myint Aung has taken the position as chief Command in Southeast Command since last year. The army officials, the Mon State PDC authorities and No. 5 Military Intelligence in Mon State always tracked the HIV/AIDS suffering patients and other patients who suffered from transmitted diseases.

Army officials and the authorities tracked the patients who returned from foreign countries, and if they found the patients who suffered from HIV/AIDS and other transmitted diseases, they put injection and killed them.