School Fund Milked by Falam Township Admin Officer

20 June 2011: Falam Township Administration Officer U Khin Maung Win has been accused of exploiting fund given for construction of new school buildings in Falam Township, Chin State.

The local leaders of one village, whose name is kept anonymous, were late last month said to have received only a certain amount out of a total estimated 2million Kyats sanctioned for building school premises, according to a source by Chin Human Rights Organisation.

A Chin witness, who travelled to the village last month, told Chinland Guardian: “It was the third visit by U Khin Maung Win when I was there. He called a meeting for three hours on Saturday and told the locals that the school buildings would be renovated within ten days.”

One of the village headmen was quoted as saying that they are not sure if the remaining amount of money needed for the school building would be given.

Khin Maung Win was also claimed to have indicated that the school premises might be rather extended instead of building new ones.

The local people, who seemed to have known of details of the fund from internal sources, were not happy at all with what the Admin Officer said and did to them, according to the witness.

During his second visit to the village, former Chairman of Falam Township Peace and Development Council U Khin Maung Win was said to have intentionally summoned a meeting on Sunday.

A local was quoted as saying: “Only three locals turned up for the meeting as all the villagers went to church. The officer got so upset and even told, out of his anger, our headman to get everyone out of the church.”

Making an ‘uncomfortable’ situation during the worship service, U Khin Maung Thein incontrovertibly called a meeting later on the day, according to the local villager.

It is claimed that U Khin Maung Win was under the influence of alcohol when arriving in the village and chairing the meeting during his visits.

Van Biak Thang
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