Prisoner Escapes from Prison Labor

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Subject: Prisoner Escapes from Prison Labor Camp

Interview With A Prison Immate Who Escaped From Labor Camp


Name:               U Aung Myint
Age:                35
Marital Status:     Married with two children
Address:            Sint Ngu Quarter, Aung San, Insein Township,
                    Rangoon
Occupation:         Merchant
Crime:              Arrested in 1992 while on his way back from 
                    Nyaungleban town after buying some teak.
Thayawaddy District Court charged him under Ah Pa Ka (3), which
is a law concerning protection of economic interests of the
country, and sentensed him to 10 years with hard labor.


Prison Labor Camp Experience

U Aung Myint was sent to Tha Baw Leik Prison Labor Camp in
Tenasserim Division in early 1993. He was among 250 immates in
the camp. The security of the camp was carried out by a platton
of soldiers from Infantry 103, 30 Lon Htein or the riot police
from No. 3 Lon Htein Unit, one warden, one sergeant, one coporal
and two lance-coporal from the Department of Prisons.

The prisoners lived in the barracks built by the local villagers.
They had to get up at 6 in the morning. They were given a
condensed milk tinful of watery rice soup for breakfast. For
lunch, the prisoners had rice with boiled chik pea. Dinner was
mainly consisted of rice and boiled babana stem or leaves found
in the forest. The rice quota for a prisoner was one pound and 8
ounce, but receives only one pound and 2 ounces. Supplies for the
prisoners were then sold at the local market. Prisoners did not
receive prison clothes. All prisoners were shackled.

After the breakfast, they had to go to the work site which is 3
miles away from the camp. Two sessions of soldiers walked in
front and behind the immates. The work was to unearth the stones
and boulders sunk in the ground. Lunch break was at 11:30. The
work was finished at 4:00. It was very laborious work. There was
no roof to stay out of rain or sunshine. They had to work rain or
sunshine.

The health care situation was at its worst. There was no doctor
in the camp. The shortage of medicine was always a problem. An
officer from the Department of Prisons was in charge of
medicines. If he was not satisfied with nature of the illness,
the prisoner would not be given any medicine when asked. Instead,
he would likely to be beaten up for such a request. So far 8
prisoners had died of dysentry. 60 more prisoners had fled the
camp owing to severity of workload and worsening prison
conditions.

When a prisoner escapes, others will be beaten. Or when the
wardens are drunk, the prisoners will be beaten. Or when a
prisoner does something wrong, he would also be beaten. The
wardens use a big cane to beat the prisoners. A prisoner would be
beaten 30 or 40 times. If they try to escape, the guards open
fire on them. A prisoner lost an eye because the guards opened
fire when he attempted to escape. Another was shot in the hand
when a guard shot him at point blank.


Zawel Prison Labor Camp

U Aung Myint was sent to Zawel Prison Labor Camp in the middle of
1994. There are 30 guards from No. (3) Lon Htein Unit. There were
about 100 prisoners in all. 

The food was the same. 

The work was to dismantle stones from a stone hill-lock. The
prisoners had to work rain or sunshine. While U Aung Myint was at
the camp, a prisoner died of fatigue. 

Health care was no better than the previous camp. A prisoner died
of cholera. 

U Aung Myint escaped from the camp in February 1995. He entered
into Monkhood in Michaung Baw village, but was arrested again in
Mergui. The authorities increased one year to his previous
sentence. 

As a second, he was sent to Boke Pyin Prison Labor Camp. There
were 60 of them. While travelling at night, he escaped into the
forest. After 3 days hiding in the jungle whithout any food, he
arrived at  Sin Khuang Tai village where he met ABSDF troops.

U Aung Myint learned that there were more than 200 prisoners at
Poke Pyin Camp. He also learnt that the food there was worse than
the camps he had been. More deaths were reported. There was no
proper building for the prisoners. They had to sleep on the
ground. The buildings were only roofed with reed. It was a
constant hell whether it rained or sunshined.

(Information Department, ABSDF-MTZ)