Five people arrested for allegedly dealing fake gold in Manaung Twsp

By DMG 26 May 2021

DMG Newsroom
26 May 2021, Manaung

Five people were arrested in Manaung town, Arakan State, on May 24 for allegedly dealing fake gold at multiple local pawn shops, according to the Manaung Township police station.

The arrestees have been identified as Daw Moe Moe Lin, Daw Khin San Htay, Daw Hay Man Soe, U Aung Zaw Hein, and U Aung Lin Ko from Theintaung, Ywama and Kadawseik wards in Taungup Township.

U Nyi Pu Chay, the owner of one of the pawn shops, complained to local police about the counterfeit gold, and police arrested the suspects at Mawkun Rakkha Guest House in Manaung, according to the township police station’s clerk, U Ohn Myint.

“They were apprehended at Mawkun Rakkha Guest House in Manaung on May 24. They were sued under Section 420 and Section 486 of the Penal Code,” U Nyi Pu Chay said.

“Ko Nyi Pu Chay went to the police station to report the incident,” fellow pawn shop owner U Hla Shwe Gyi said. “They also informed us that they had seen the mortgages in our shops. Only then did we know that we had been deceived and that they had come like us, just like local people of Manaung. Bracelets and beads look like the real thing. I caught on, luckily. When the ship could not leave due to the cyclone, they were caught staying in a guest house with nowhere to go.”

The alleged fraudsters received several million kyats for the fake gold, and the owners of the pawnshops have filed a lawsuit against the five.