Villagers beat, apprehend 30 policemen in Pyinmana

Source dvb, 20 Sept

A policeman is tied to a pole and held by villagers after a violent confrontation between residents in the village of Wegyi and police.

• By SHWE AUNG

About 10 policemen have been hospitalised in Naypyidaw after a clash with residents in the Pyinmana suburb of Wegyi early on Thursday morning. The incident happened when police raided the house of a local National League for Democracy (NLD) member to arrest him for allegedly supporting local farmers who had defiantly begun ploughing land previously confiscated from them.

Zaw Latt, the NLD member in question, said about 30 policemen forcibly entered his house around 1:30am on Thursday and proceeded to beat him up until they themselves became prey to a large crowd of villagers who descended upon them when the man's wife started crying that bandits were raiding their house.

"The police rushed into our house – about four or five of them stamped on my neck and put handcuffs on me. They also attacked my wife and tried to tear off her clothes, and even punched my five-year-old daughter in the face," said Zaw Latt.

The villagers subsequently subdued the police and detained 27 of them until daybreak when dozens more police officers came to rescue their comrades.

"Around 200 armed policemen came at dawn, shouting warnings that they were prepared to use their guns, and dragged their fellow officers out of the village," said Zaw Latt.

An official at nearby Kyidaunggan police station confirmed the incident but declined to give furtherdetails.