When he was ordered to shoot and kill peaceful protestors with his submachine gun in the Myanmar town of Khampat, officer Tha Peng refused and resigned his job. He and other officers revealed detailed accounts of orders they were given by the military in a Retuers report.
Peng told Reuters that he was asked to kill peaceful protestors but denied. “The next day, an officer called to ask me if I will shoot,” he said, but the 27-year-old refused again and resigned from the force. It happened on February 27.
On March 1, Peng fled his hometown of Khampat and took a three day journey to India’s northeastern Mizoram state, largely travelling at night to avoid being found.
“I had no choice,” he detailed, adding that six of his other colleagues disobeyed the orders as well.
Peng, whose full name could not be revealed in order to protect his identity, is among the first cases reported by the media of police escaping after disobeying orders.
Daily protests have been taking place in Myanmar since its military overthrew the government, with more than 60 protesters being killed so far.
