Relief cans of fishes being sold by junta border guards

The junta border guards are allegedly reselling some relief items (sardines/cans of fishes), donated for the Mocha affected families in a Maungdaw town shop on the western border of Rakhine State.

Local witnesses claimed that the border guard policemen came to a food shop located at ward 4 of Maungdaw by a car on Sunday to sell the sardines meant for the storm affected people.

A resident, who did not want to be named, informed that the guards with plain clothes came with a police van and sold the items from inside the shop.

Another resident said that they have no idea which border guard battalion the sellers belong to, but they pretended to be civilians.

They came in a police car and sold a large volume of cans.

"The policemen put a number of sardine cans in a lorry and brought it to the yard. They are doing this when the Rakhine people are suffering,” he added.

U Aung Thaung Shwe, a former member of the Buthidaung township people's Hluttaw, said that similar incidents are also observed in other parts of Rakhine State.

"This should not happen. We have to offer those items to the beneficiaries. Indeed, it’s a very bad example,” he added.

The military council earlier declared that it would take action if anyone is found selling relief materials in the markets.

"The government officials are doing this when the people are facing trouble days. It looks very ugly. Those policemen would be prosecuted is evidences surfaces. I think that those personnel should be publicly exposed,” he asserted.

Narinjara tried to contact the Rakhine State security and border affairs minister colonel Kyaw Thura to inquire about this issue, but failed to get him.

A large number of Rakhine families are waiting for relief materials even after 20 days of cyclone Mocha that hit the State. They are still deprived of any assistance from the military council and facing a crisis of food scarcity.