Chinese Youth Kidnapped in Burma

By LAWI WENG

Chinese reports say there have been numerous kidnappings of Chinese youth in northern Burma, where ethnic insurgent ceasefire groups allow casinos to operate.

According to the government-run China Daily, at least 50 Chinese youth from Shanxi Province have been kidnapped in Kachin State on the Sino-Burma border by Burmese gangs who then extort ransom from their parents.

Some of the youth say they were tortured. The kidnappings have occurred regularly since August.

Two victims, age 16 and 19, were reportedly kidnapped last week, and China's Ministry of Public Security is investigating.

The newspaper reported that after the kidnappings someone calls the victim’s parents and tells them to pay a ransom into a designated bank account. They tell the parents the youth are being held in Maijayang, a Burmese border town well-known for its casinos.

Maijayang is controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic armed group which signed for a ceased-fire agreement with the Burmese military government.
Sources said some Chinese casino owners may be behind the gangs who conduct the kidnappings and extort money when gamblers make bets they can not pay.

Lapai Naw Din, an editor with the Thailand-based Kachin News Group, said “Two people committed suicide when they were detained and torture in December.”

An employee of the Chinese Consulate General in Burma's old capital, Mandalay, told the Shanghai Daily newspaper that the kidnappings started in 2007, and the number of cases has steadily increased.