Rights groups, workers’ unions, and family members are demanding the immediate release of a domestic worker arrested last week for possessing counterfeit kyat, after new details emerged suggesting glaring inconsistencies in the case against the 25-year-old.
The case shot to prominence following a now-viral Facebook post by Myanmar Police on Friday, which detailed the arrest, the day before, of Naw Taw Twe Htoo, a domestic worker employed in Singapore since 2017.
Police claimed they had “raided” Naw Taw’s home in Lae Kya Myaung village, in Bago region’s Daik-U township, and uncovered 154 fake 10,000 kyat notes imported from Singapore.
https://www.facebook.com/yezarnimedia/posts/2188297447889709
She was promptly charged with Article 105/106 of the Central Bank of Myanmar Law for possession of counterfeit money, an offense carrying a maximum prison sentence of three years.
She also faces a potential jail term of up to 20 years, given the notes were brought into the country from Singapore.
However, the cops’ characterization of the case has since been stridently challenged, with reports emerging that Naw Taw had, in fact, approached local authorities herself after learning she had been swindled and paid in counterfeit bills by her employer.
Multiple outlets reported that, prior to returning to Myanmar earlier this month, her employer had visited a Singaporean money exchange, named as MM Shariff Trader, to swap Singaporean dollars for kyat, in order to pay Naw Taw in her domestic currency.
The amount of cash exchanged, according to the reports, was 3,123.39 Singaporean dollars into 2,960,000 Myanmar kyats.
According to RFA Burmese, Naw Taw only learned the bills were fake upon attempting to buy a phone on December 3, a day after returning to Myanmar.
She then approached Htwe Htwe, a representative from the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM), to ask for advice on what she should do, Htwe told the outlet.
The unionist advised Naw Taw to report that case to local authorities, something she did along with her mother, Ti Ti Khine.
Later that day, officers visited the family’s home and arrested Naw Taw.
“She then brought the money to the police station and they inspected it,” Ti Ti told Myanmar Now.
“Afterwards, they came back to the village to our house to inspect the rest of the money and too pictures. That night, they came and took my daughter away.”
After learning of the family’s account, Myanmar National Human Rights Commission member U Yu Lwin Aung said, if true, Naw Taw should be immediately released.
“When they knew the bills were fake, they didn’t use them. They didn’t think about using them anywhere else. They reported it to the authorities and they were arrested. This is a miscarriage of justice. They have violated her rights,” Yu Lwin Aung told Myanmar Now, adding the commission would now assist in the case.
