Myanmar Authorities Allow Family Visits To 92 Thai Detainees

[Lite Beer]

Myanmar authorities allow family visits to 92 Thai detainees

BANGKOK, Sept 16 – Myanmar authorities will allow relatives of 92 Thai detainees to visit them in a prison on Tuesday.

The Thai detainees were arrested in July Myanmar’s Kaw Thaung for land encroachment and illegal drugs, weapons possession.

Col Pornsak Poonsawat, from the 25th infantry regiment, said Myanmar authorities will permit relatives of the detainees to talk and give medicine and personal items to the detainees.

Thai authorities are providing Thai doctors from Ranong to give the prisoners medical check-ups, particularly to a woman who is four months pregnant, and likely vulnerable to weather conditions and the current heavy rain.

A Myanmar court has already handed down verdicts for those charged with land encroachment and weapons possession, while cases involving illegal drugs are awaiting the court’s hearing.

Eight Thais were sentenced seven years in Myanmar jails for illegal possession of military weapons, an additional verdict on top of illegal entry and deforestation charges, said the Thai border committee chairman on Saturday.

The eight detainees earlier told to the court that they possessed firearms only for their self defence, as the area where they stayed was in the forest.

A local court earlier handed down jail terms of three and one half years for the 92 Thai villagers -- 82 men and 10 women -- for illegal entry and deforestation, while another two were charged with drugs-related offenses.

The 92 villagers were detained for encroaching onto Myanmar territory early July. The detainees maintained they were lured by a broker to clear the land which they later learned was beyond the area authorised by Myanmar officials for the Thais to cultivate. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-09-16