A senior commander of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) received medical treatment in a military hospital in Rangoon’s Mingaladon Township, according to sources close to the DKBA.
Col Chit Thu, commander of DKBA Battalion 999, was hospitalized and had surgery on his stomach because of gastric illness, the sources said.
A Rangoon source also said that the commander is now in better health.
Meanwhile, a source close to the DKBA in Kawkareik Township in Karen State said Chit Thu’s condition is improving, and he recently attended a meeting in DKBA headquarters in Myaing Gyi Nyu in Karen State.
“He has been suffering from gastric problems for a long time,” the DKBA source said. “He also smokes too much and received medical treatment for this.”
comment on:One more thing about his business, they got 800 to 1200 baht per head from those migrant Burmese workers returning to their homes at their 999 checkpoint. Actually, Thai immigration officers in Mae Sot also got their fair share in that dirty money collected from the poor workers.
Now Both sides have interests in this business and they don’t want that official labor registration process to happen.
However, unconfirmed reports suggest that Chit Thu was hospitalized after a shooting incident with members of the DKBA who dislike him, but The Irrawaddy has been unable to gain independent confirmation.
Karen sources have been speculating that Col Chit Thu was involved in an ambush that killed San Pyote (aka Soe Myint), the influential commander of DKBA Battalion 7.
San Pyote was ambushed and killed by an unknown armed group while traveling by longtail boat on the Moei River on June 26.
Chit Thu is now believed to be the most powerful man in the DKBA. He also owns large businesses dealing with logging and auto trading, and he is rumored to be involved in drug trafficking.
The recent week-long offensive against the Karen National Liberation Army Brigade 7 that ended on June 21 was reportedly ordered by Chit Thu, according to sources at the Thai-Burmese border.
irrawaddy.org
comment on
One more thing about his business, they got 800 to 1200 baht per head from those migrant Burmese workers returning to their homes at their 999 checkpoint. Actually, Thai immigration officers in Mae Sot also got their fair share in that dirty money collected from the poor workers.
Now Both sides have interests in this business and they don’t want that official labor registration process to happen.
democracy for burma 