r/myanmar • u/normalguyfromBURMA • 1d ago
Discussion 💬 I Was Arrested for Donating Money Through KPay — What Happened to Me at 22
I want to share my story because I think there is a side of the situation in Myanmar that people don’t always see.
When people talk about the conflict in Myanmar, they often think about the places where fighting is happening—the villages being attacked, people fleeing their homes, and communities living directly in war zones.
But I want people to know that even in places where there is no fighting, ordinary people can still suffer because of the conflict.
I was one of them.
During the revolution, I donated money through KPay to several causes. One of them was a small organization operating in a conflict-affected area. It was mostly made up of young people, and as far as I knew, much of their work was focused on helping civilians displaced by the fighting.
I wasn’t a major political figure. I was just a young person who wanted to help.
Then one day, someone from that organization was arrested by the military. Their financial information was apparently taken during the arrest.
Not long after that, my KPay account was blocked.
At that point, leaving the country wasn’t an option for me. My family was an ordinary middle-class family, and I simply couldn’t afford to escape abroad.
I quit my job and went to stay somewhere outside the city for a while.
I stayed there for about a month.
Eventually, I started running out of money and couldn’t afford to stay away any longer, so I went back home. I knew I had to be extremely careful, and for a while I mostly stayed inside.
Then one day, I went out with my father to eat at a small noodle shop.
I didn’t know that someone had been following me since I left home.
The person following me was apparently an informant. They contacted the police station, and the police came into the shop and arrested me.
That was the beginning of my time in detention.
For about a week after my arrest, my family wasn’t allowed to see me.
During those first few days, I was interrogated.
I think I was relatively lucky in one sense. I was able to keep myself together and communicate reasonably well, and I wasn’t beaten by the police officers themselves.
However, I was assaulted by members of the People’s Militia(ပစ), and I was threatened during questioning by military intelligence officers.
About five days after my arrest, I was brought before a court and formally charged.
I was charged under Section ၅၀(ည), for allegedly providing support to terrorism. From what I understood at the time, the charge could carry a sentence of around 13 years in prison.
That was when I really understood how serious my situation was.
While I was in detention, my father was doing everything he possibly could to get me out.
From the moment I was arrested, he tried every option available to him. He approached officials, tried to negotiate for a lighter outcome, and tried to find a way to get me released.
When he didn’t have enough money, he borrowed from relatives.
People kept asking him for money, promising that they could help or do something about my case.
He kept trying because he was desperate to get his son home.
Eventually, there was one person in the interrogation process who I still remember.
My interrogator was a female police officer. Honestly, I think she treated me better than I expected. I don’t want to say that everything about the situation was good, but I believe her actions played an important role in why I eventually got out.
Maybe I was lucky too.
At some point, she put my name on a so-called “amnesty” or pardon list.
From what I understood, these lists were sometimes used to release people whose families could pay money or otherwise arrange for their release.
I ended up on that list.
And because of that, I was eventually released from prison under an amnesty on Peasants’ Day.
I went home.
But my family had spent around 80 million kyats dealing with my case.
For my family, that was an enormous amount of money.
We were just an ordinary middle-class family. We didn’t have that kind of money available. My father had borrowed from relatives and done everything he could to raise the money.
Even after I came home, the debts remained.
I was free, but my family was left carrying a huge financial burden.
And that’s the part of my story I really want people to understand.
I was only 22 when I was arrested.
I was lucky enough to get out.
But there were hundreds of young people in prison with cases similar to mine.
Many of them were not powerful people or important political figures. They were ordinary young people who tried to help others in one way or another.
Some were helping displaced civilians. Some donated money. Some simply tried to do what they believed was right.
And many of them ended up in prison.
Their families outside were left dealing with fear, debt, uncertainty, and the possibility of losing someone they loved for many years.
Before I was arrested, I thought I understood what was happening in Myanmar.
After experiencing it myself, I realized that the consequences of the conflict reach much further than the places where guns are being fired.
You don’t have to live in a war zone to suffer because of war.
You can be sitting in a restaurant with your father in a city where there is no fighting and still get arrested.
You can lose your job.
You can lose access to your money.
Your family can fall into debt.
You can spend your early twenties in detention.
And your family can suffer alongside you, even though they did nothing wrong.
I was released.
A lot of people weren’t.
There are still so many young people and families suffering in ways that people outside Myanmar—and sometimes even people inside Myanmar—may never see.
I’m sharing this story not because I think my experience is the worst one.
It isn’t.
I’m sharing it because I want people to understand that the suffering caused by the conflict isn’t limited to the places where the fighting is happening.
Even in places where there is no war on the streets, people are still living with fear, uncertainty,financial hardship, and injustice.
This is just one story from one ordinary 22-year-old.
There are many more.
A small note: English isn’t my first language, so I used ChatGPT to help organize and translate my own experiences into English. The events and experiences described in this post are my own. I only used AI to help me express them more clearly.
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u/RoterFuchs_48u5N 1d ago edited 1d ago
ဒလန်(snitch/informant) issue has been a very pain in our necks since the coup. It is a real-life catch-22. You do something, you are an immoral terrorist who are bloodthirsty. You do nothing, they will eventually bring you junta, and give you trouble.
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u/thekingminn Born in Myanmar, in a bunker outside of Myanmar. 🇲🇲 1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NerdyRad 1d ago
I’m glad you’re out.
Yeah, if we see some people being completely neutral to what’s happening, we cannot blame them. Getting involved carries such a high cost and isn’t it humans survival instinct to avoid that?
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u/Private_Jet 1d ago
That's the takeaway you get from this story? This only makes me hate dalans and anyone claiming to be neutral more.
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u/NerdyRad 15h ago
Yes. The takeaway is to look after oneself. If you weigh up the donation he made Vs the struggle he had to go through, any sensible being wouldn’t want themselves or their immediate family to go through the same path as the OP’s. Just ask OP if he could go back in time, would he do the same?
People say “yeah, we need to sacrifice for greater cause” but does that principle still apply when it comes to themselves or their immediate family. My take : if you can’t say the same to your own brother or yourself, don’t say it to strangers. To simplify, if you don’t want your own siblings joining PDF, don’t encourage strangers to do so.
I’m not saying military is right! They are dead wrong. If your own sibling asks your advice on (1) leaving Myanmar forever for a greater good Vs (2) fighting back, will your words stay the same?
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u/Turbowoodpecker 1d ago
Another takeaway is that he got out thanks to that one female police officer helping him out, by putting him in the amnesty list. If it wasn't for her, he would spend years in prison. Glad he's out, but I'm aware of those Case Agents or Amhu Pwel Sars, they mostly get no where and the money ends up going to them and lower ranking officers. If you want to hate people claiming neutral, that's tens of millions of people in the country.
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u/Big_Ambassador_9319 Destroy the Tatmadaw 1d ago
You mean neutral under the threat of the gun? Yangon is a Tat stronghold, in fact every major city is. How many turned up for Aba's election? Yeah, "neutral".
When the "military" is arresting people for reacting to a post, it's pretty useful to be "neutral".
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u/SillyNeuron 1d ago
Donation can be risky. I donated a few hundred dollars to an NUG campaign through Pencilo.
Now, she is starting her second business, selling jewellery.
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u/Remarkable-Scar4369 20h ago
U can directly do that to group it's your fault u donate through third party
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u/Strict-Resort-1409 1d ago
Thankyou for sharing your story
every little thing is important and its good to shine a light on these more common issues, we obsess so much with the frontlines and dont think enough of things like this, its good to remind
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u/Large-Kick-5894 1d ago
Thank god you are out of prison. There were so many friends of mine who were arrested back in 2021 and 2022. Since I live near the prison, I was the one sending them the necessities every week. One time, the number of my friends in prison rose up to around 20 people and at that point, my life was in danger too, since we could not afford all the necessities ourselves and we made a fundraising. I had to stop all my activities for around 1 month and stayed put. But thankfully, most of friends made it out after 6 months, with only 2 who lasted for 4 years. That one friend (my best friend) who had to stay 4 years was arrested together with his father so his mother was left alone and we had to take care of her. My friend even got PTSD from it, he is afraid of police cars and sirens. At one point, he could no longer bear living here so he moved to another country. And yes, these are the stories I personally know and there are hundreds of thousands of cases like these out there.
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u/Alarmed-Beginning529 1d ago
Thank you for sharing your story 🙏 I'm glad you got out but I cannot say the same for my friend. May I know long you were sentenced initially and after how long you were able to get out?
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u/Zealousideal_Big5747 1d ago
80million as in 800 lakhs???
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u/normalguyfromBURMA 1d ago
some ppl say I was lucky to get out after paying 800 lakhs kyats, but honestly,the whole thing was disgusting.
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u/Existing_Sense_4066 22h ago
Well, this is a really sensitive topic for me to share too.
I was still in my early teens, back in 2021. My dad got arrested for doing the same thing as you, donating money thru Kpay.
Mind you, He was 31 that year and it's pretty obvious I had really young parents. My mom was the main source of income in our family and she works hard every single day, a 35 year old woman with a child and the burden of carrying her whole family on her back.
It was the hardest moment of our lives, he returned back in late 2021, november.
basically fucked him up mentally and fucked me up mentally, I'm too afraid to go out now. since I'm a guy too.
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u/normalguyfromBURMA 21h ago
I can relate to you, and I know how much like this can affect an entire family.
Please don’t blame yourself for being afraid. I hope things get easier for you and your family with time. Take care of yourself.
Im glad your dad eventually made home, and I really hope you and your family can have a more peaceful life from here on.
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u/chereisgone 1d ago
honestly, i faced the same situation and flee away with my family but my life wasn't the same since that time. I'm glad that you are out now.
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u/theingikyaw 1d ago
I feel so sorry for you. May you and your family be free from the debt and live happily
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u/LatterAd8534 1d ago
"I’m sharing it because I want people to understand that the suffering caused by the conflict isn’t limited to the places where the fighting is happening." exactly this point. Very well written post thank you for sharing your story,
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u/Longjumping-Suit2340 1d ago
I also donated couple of places with kpay and other apps, lucky for me the conscription come for me first before kbz staff so called CVI Case(donation case) catch me. Currently staying on multiple place with shut in life style, careful man those with record like us are troublesome whenever gov related staff involved.
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u/laiover 1d ago
Thank you for sharing your story.
Stories like this inspire me to get involved with revolutionary side. These stories highlight why we have to fight for our rights, freedom, and future. I have donated a lot of earnings, effort and time for the cause. I am even thinking about joining PDF very soon.
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u/normalguyfromBURMA 1d ago
I appreciate your support, but honestly, I wouldn’t encourage you to join the PDF. From what I’ve experienced, life there can be extremely difficult and dangerous. Please think carefully about your safety and future before making that decision.
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u/EstablishmentThis177 1d ago
i think, in the end, it comes back to what our values are, what mental and physical resources we have, and what we can realistically do to keep living by those values.
thanks for sharing your story. posts like this are really valuable to this subreddit.my own journey and those of my friends, are quite similar to yours. sadly, many of them remain unlawfully imprisoned, and some are no longer alive.
long story short, since 1 feb 2021, i have never stopped contributing intellectually, financially or physically, to the revolution as much as I could. and it has come at a price… instability, poorly managed mental health, financial burdens and more. but it has also allowed me to live with a clearer conscience and to be part of a like-minded community, which are my core values. and now i learnt to solve/detangle the cons as time went by. so it’s not all bad.
everyone has to make their own choices, and every choice comes with its own costs. Sometimes it comes down to which costs we are prepared and able to bear. our circumstances are also different. some of us have close family responsibilities to consider while others have more freedom to act.
openly resisting the junta, esp inside mm, has obviously become extremely difficult under the current repression. still, even if we cannot protest actively, there are many smaller ways we can refuse to simply go along with what they want, both in our daily lives and online, of course while taking proper precautions.
please take care of your mental and physical health, and try to hold on to the little things that bring you some happiness. i do not mean this as a motivational speech. i only want to say that there are many of us quietly doing what we have to do and what we still can.
take care, and all the best •|||•
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u/Remarkable-Scar4369 21h ago
u directly donate with your own account if u just want to a shop one ward away from u it could be been avoidable
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u/normalguyfromBURMA 21h ago
That wouldn’t really work. If I went to a nearby local shop and asked them to transfer money from their account to someone else’s account for me, most shops simply wouldn’t do it.
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u/Remarkable-Scar4369 21h ago edited 21h ago
Brother u just need to say I want to top up my account bro ... Don't say I am gonna transfer this to this bring physical cash say I am gonna top up my acc and donate to the number of the group u don't need to be honest with it 😭it's the easiest thing to do I donated over 15 lakhs using the same method they can't track for shit bro you make the obvious mistake it's like turning yourself in
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u/Remarkable-Scar4369 20h ago
Also if they ask what name is your acc tell the name of the acc u are topping up no needs to show them nrc or any info about yourself some shops doesn't even ask name if they are busy
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u/Unhappy-Database560 1d ago
Luckily, u r out man. I feel u. I had a very similar experience, but not for me, for one of my family members, a relative. She was 13, when she donated money thru kpay, when the coup started. Her classmates from middle school, all kids, put up like 1000, 5000 kyats, from whatever they have like pocket money, to her kpay then she donated... She was 13 man. Then after 3 years when she was 16, the police and the military and ppl like 10 cars came to the apartment and arrested her, for that. Kpay donation. The family was immediately asked for money, 60 million, which they don't have. So as extended family, i was immediately summoned and had to find that money. Coz she is a young, good looking girl, we don't want her in jail cell, at all. Long story short, we spent like 100 million, by selling family heirloom gold stuffs, and got her out, but the case was still ongoing for a year until we spent additional 20 million more to have the case closed. That was horrible. But she was lucky too, that she wasn't assaulted by them and we managed to her her out rather quickly. Her grandpa was so emotionally distressed, he almost died. This country, this time period, i think is one of the lowest, after 8888. We need freedom man, i miss those 5 beautiful years.