A junta checkpoint at the entrance of Longshayang Village in Putao Township, Kachin State, is imposing hefty fines on individuals who fail to carry their national identification cards (NICs).
The checkpoint is between Sumprabum and Putao towns, on the road between Myitkyina, the Kachin State capital, and Putao Town to the north. Soldiers there have been strictly checking all travellers’ NICs and those who do not have their NICs are being fined a minimum of 100,000 MMK, according to a traveller interviewed by KNG.
She said: “The NIC checks are extremely strict. Soldiers inspect the NICs carefully, so travellers often have to wait at the checkpoint for an hour or two. Those who can’t present their NIC will be fined at least 100,000 MMK. Some may have 200,000 to 300,000 MMK demanded from them, but the usual fine for not having an NIC is 100,000 MMK.”
Junta soldiers set up the checkpoint at the entrance of Longshayang Village in May 2024. Since December 2024 the checkpoint has increased its restrictions on the the movement of young people and has been implementing stricter NIC checks.
They first started imposing heavy fines on those who could not produce their NICs in early May 2025. Soldiers also frequently turn back those travellers who cannot pay the fine, according to another traveller.
He said: “These days, the inspections have become very strict, and the junta troops are raking in hefty fines. In fact, the soldiers are just looking for any opportunity to extort money.”
Previously the checkpoint used to impose excessively large tolls on trucks passing through, but they were stopped from doing that.
“Before, cargo trucks and tankers had to pay several hundred thousand MMK in tolls to pass through the checkpoint. Truck operators, unable to bear the excessive tolls, filed a complaint, and now the toll is lower than it was. But it’s still pretty high,” a truck owner said.
The Longshayang Village checkpoint is only open between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm every day. Outside those hours the road is blocked meaning that travellers cannot pass and locals do not have freedom of movement. It has also led to some passengers and cargo vehicles being forced to wait overnight at the checkpoint because they arrived after it had closed.
There are about 100 junta soldiers stationed at the Longshayang Village checkpoint.
Many junta soldiers and member of the junta-aligned Rawang ethnic militia have been deployed in the villages of Longshayang, Tanja, and Tsumpiyang, on the road between Sumprabun Town to the south, which is under the control of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and Putao Town to the north, which remains under junta control.
