Mizzima
Administrative officials across several Yangon townships are reportedly using overdue guest registrations as a tool for financial extortion and forced military recruitment.
Reports from residents and the Rangoon Scout Network (RSN) indicate that junta-aligned ward administrators are demanding payments ranging from 50,000 to 300,000 Kyats from those who fail to report overnight guests within the mandatory timeframe.
The extortion appears most concentrated in Thaketa, Tamwe, and Mingala Taung Nyunt townships.
According to local monitors, officials are increasingly using the threat of the People’s Military Service Law to squeeze funds from the populace. In cases where residents cannot afford the “fine,” they are reportedly threatened with immediate enlistment into the military’s upcoming training batches.
An official from the Rangoon Scout Network (RSN) said, “They usually extort between 50,000 and 300,000 Kyats for overdue registrations. I heard they demanded 50,000 in Tamwe last night.
During an inspection in Thaketa on 13 March they reportedly asked for 300,000. In other townships, they blackmail and demand money based on the location. They seize ID cards and won’t return them until the money is paid. During times when the military needs recruits, they threaten to put people in the service if they don’t pay.”
On the night of 23 March, in Tamwe Township, Meitta Nyunt Ward, on Nay Myo Thura Road, junta forces were searching for an alleged naval deserter at a specific address and simultaneously inspected other nearby homes.
The Tamwe Scout Group (Tamwe Nway Oo) released information stating that homes with overdue guest registrations in that ward had to pay a fine of 50,000 Kyats on the morning of 24 March.
A resident of Phoe Myay Road in Mingala Taung Nyunt Township said that since last year, fines for overdue registrations ranged from 5,000 to 10,000 Kyats, but they have heard of other townships collecting various amounts between 50,000 and 100,000 Kyats.
“Last year, if you went to report and were even one day late, they wouldn’t accept it and demanded money. I even told them my father was unwell, and I had trouble getting a bus ticket back to the village, but they didn’t care and said it was ‘my problem.’ Since then, I haven’t dared to be late and carefully reported guest registration every two weeks. Friends in South and North Dagon say they also have to pay 50,000 or 100,000. Hostels with many men are charged more; I’ve heard if you don’t pay, you’ll have to draw lots for military service,” she told Mizzima.
A man living under guest registration in Pazundaung Township said that since late 2024, he has been paying the ward administrator between 50,000 and 100,000 Kyats monthly to stay off the conscription list. This year, in 2026, he had to pay 200,000 Kyats because the administrator blackmailed him with military service when his registration was overdue.
“They demand 50,000 or 100,000 from us every month. Recently they asked for 200,000. When I pleaded with them not to increase the amount since we pay regularly, they said it was specifically for being over a week late with the guest registration. They said if I didn’t pay, I’d be at the top of the conscription list, so I had to give it. They didn’t ask for extra the next few times, but I’m still paying the regular 100,000,” he told Mizzima.
The RSN official mentioned that junta-aligned administrators conduct more frequent inspections whenever they need recruits. They often target suspicious homes, particularly apartments and hostels where groups of men live, and conduct raids based on tips from informers.
In addition to arresting residents without guest registration, they also detain people sitting on the roadside at night on the pretext of drinking alcohol. In secluded areas, they often set people up with drug possession charges to extort those who can afford it. If they can’t get money, they send them into military service, the official added.
According to RSN records, the junta arrested 58 people in Yangon during the month of February alone.
As the junta’s military service training reaches Batch 23, men taking refuge in Yangon and those living in male hostels are reportedly living in constant fear and anxiety due to the Conscription Law.
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