Dagon Shwe Mair - Saw Ya Thet Syed

Sigh early.

The five or six years before World War II were the peak of bureaucratic influence in Burma.

At that time, Burmese officials, wielding the influence of the government , were arrogant and arrogant towards the poor ethnic people with the attitude of 'I am the one who is the one', and the nobles, who were "parasites " to them , lived and ate.

“Back then, the police and the local administration did not have the kind of consultation and cooperation that we have today, but instead were driven by their own pride and power, and sometimes even sided with each other.

For example, a judge may dismiss a case that the police have taken action against. Similarly, a judge may dismiss a case that a judge believes is innocent, but the police will search for witnesses and the case will be resolved. There is a ' hand-in-hand ' situation, and some officials are more interested in bribes than in the government.

One day, at about 7 o'clock in the evening, the police chief (...) was standing under the porch of the house on Taungdari Road. U Sein Hlaing was about to get out of the car and respectfully greeted the king. However, the king raised his hand to stop him, and the car backed up a little, and U Sein Hlaing got out of the car. After the king got down to the bottom step, ...

"Here, please arrange for the defendant, Maung Sein Hlaing, to be granted bail...

"Yes, brother..."

And since he's a judge, his dignity must be upheld, right?'

"Yes, brother..."

"If it's 3,000 tons for two people, that's enough... I'm done. You also warned the village head... did you hear that, Ma Maung Sein Hlaing?"

"Yes, I'll take a look and make arrangements, brother..."

After U Sein Hlaing left the police chief's house, he drove his car to a Chinese hotel in the west.

At that time, the news of a man named Saw Ya Thet Syed, who was very kind and knowledgeable, was quite popular in Yangon. He not only attacked ordinary criminals, but also often beat up the police and the villagers. He would steal from one place and help others. He would be kind to the poor and suppress the arrogant.

He lives in various places under various names and is generous in giving and donating. Even though he is called a saint, he never wrongs anyone and always helps those who deserve help according to their merit.

Thus, even though he was an old man, he possessed the dignity of a respectable and honorable man, and the country recognized him as a "respectable thief." Therefore, the wealthy merchants, usurers, pretenders to be good, and all those who do wrong, feared him more than they feared the government.

“As soon as U Sein Hlaing and Wankadala got out of the police chief’s house, a man with a loose hat covering almost half of his face jumped into a car parked under a tree and followed close behind U Sein Hlaing’s car.

U Sein Hlaing had turned onto 19th Street from Dalhousie. He parked in front of another Chinese hotel and went into the hotel bar. He then sat at a neatly laid table in a special room and was drinking a beer. As he drank his beer, he looked up at his watch frequently, as if he were waiting for someone.

U Sein Hlaing often came to this Chinese hotel to secretly consult with his disciples and obtain very important information to solve important cases. He was also a friend of the Chinese. The hotel owners knew that U Sein Hlaing was a young man. As soon as he entered, the room was specially prepared. However, no one noticed that there was a small hole in the picture hanging on the wooden curtain of another room next to that room.

The car that had been following U Sein Hlaing's car for a while stopped not far from U Sein Hlaing's car, and after a while, the man in the car pulled his soft hat down, which almost covered half of his face, and entered the Chinese hotel. Then, he went into the empty room next to the room where U Sein Hlaing was staying, and ordered a glass of grilled pork and a beer.

U Sein Hlaing ate a few roasted peanuts, took a sip of beer, and waited with a puff of his cigarette. At 14 minutes to 8 o'clock, a man dressed neatly in a uniform entered the room with slow steps, stood up straight, and paid homage to U Sein Hlaing.

U Sein Hlaing said

"Sit down, Maung Than Pe... sit down... I'll wait for you, I'm afraid you'll come later..."

When I said that, Maung Than Wai said...

"Yes, sir, I was a minute late... It was my fault, sir. A friend of mine forced me to wait."

"Hey... you're a minute late... let's get another glass of beer, okay?"

Maung Than Pe was a criminal mastermind and a disciple of U Sein Hlaing. Over a glass of beer and sausages, the two disciples were discussing in detail how to arrest the judge's assistant, U Lun Maung, at 9 p.m. that night.

Here, I will write a little about Judge U Lun Maung.

At that time, there was a case of eunuchism in U Lun Maung's office that the whole town was paying attention to. The defendant was the son of a wealthy landowner and could afford to spend at least ten thousand baht on the case. There was a rumor that he would try to get away by bribing the judge who was investigating the case. Especially the plaintiff's side was giving opinions on the matter, and the outsiders also believed the rumor.

The case was just beginning to be examined by the prosecution, and only two or three witnesses had been examined. Even during this period of rumors, a bribe-taking matchmaker reached U Lun Maung's ears, offering him 5,000 baht if he would let the judge go free.

At that time , there were "tauk" brokers who would bring clients to lawyers' offices and take 10, 15, or 20 percent of the fee. Similarly, some judges who took bribes would secretly take bribes from clients who could afford to pay them.

- Judge U Lun Maung was a person who was elected by the police and the local authorities and was elected as the president of any association, treasurer of any group, secretary of any club, and elder of any temple. In addition, U Lun Maung was a BA and a bachelor, and he was married to a retired session king's daughter, "Myint", and with his education, position, and the influence of his mother-in-law, he became a prominent figure in the upper class of the city's royal family.

In short, U Lun Maung was a kind-hearted and compassionate person who would investigate cases to the fullest extent possible. Even when he was punished, he would punish as leniently as possible, and he never dreamed of taking bribes. Thus, U Lun Maung's reputation was quite good.

"Myint" was said to be the daughter of a session king, but when she married U Lun Maung, she did not have enough jewelry. So, when she wanted to show off like other kings, her lack of jewelry exploded from within and came out of Myint's mouth.

"I don't want to go too high in this match. It's a shame that the jewelry is not perfect."

And so on, he often came to U Lun Maung's ears.

Therefore, U Lun Maung, who was very pure when he became a judge, was unable to keep up with the high priest's attire.

While he was there, due to the influence of a certain nobleman, he gradually learned the art of taking bribes, unable to see the injustice of the law in matters that could generate money.

However, the number of times has not been very high, only 2. In the first case, the defendant was released after receiving 500 baht. In the second case, the defendant was convicted of a stabbing incident with 2000 baht without any evidence. The case currently under investigation is the third time and is a well-known case of prostitution in the city. The girl's immaturity, her parents' disapproval, and her being held in a courtyard for 2 days without her consent are clearly evident. However, since the defendant is the son of a wealthy businessman, the bribe-taker is trying to get at least 5000 baht from the defendant.

So, when he got the 5,000, he could buy a pair of diamond earrings and a diamond necklace that were very expensive. After the defendant was released, he would have to go to the Supreme Court and see the situation from the appeals courts to the Supreme Court, and he would have to leave the job. He decided to take it with a closed eye and take it. Maya's temptation with her lust could completely cover up her husband's thoughts. So, U Lun Maung secretly told the big money broker that he would accept it if he gave her 5,000.

The night we described above was the night when the woman came to U Zalon's house and promised to pay 5,000 baht for the work.

The information that the defendant was going to bribe the judge, no matter how secret it was, was not only leaked to the plaintiff, but the plaintiff also received information about who would pay the bribe, when, and through whom.

Although the plaintiff's side did not have enough money, a group of young men with considerable influence in the city were working together to catch the plaintiff's side in the act of paying a bribe. Therefore, when a "go-between" on the plaintiff's side learned that the defendant's side was scheduled to pay 5,000 baht to Judge U. Lun. Maung that night at 8:30 p.m., he teamed up with the detective, arrested U. Lun. Maung, and planned to kill him.

The man first went to inform his deputy, U Sein Hlaing, of this matter. As soon as U Sein Hlaing heard the name Judge U Lun Maung, old wounds from the past surfaced and he vowed to go and arrest him himself if this was true.

So, to make this matter more certain, U Sein Hlaing decided as follows.

U Sein Hlaing, in collaboration with the prosecution, investigated who the person who would pay the bribe was. He received information that a diamond broker, formerly known as Minga Daw Shin, had been visiting Judge U Lun Maung's house these days. He also assumed that Daw Shin had been involved in this matter because she had previously received clean information about it.

So the man sent by U Sein Hlaing conspired with the maid who lived in the King's house to steal 200 baht from the girl's hand. The girl managed to copy the numbers from the bribe money wrapped in a handkerchief in about half an hour while the King was taking a bath and applying Thanaka.

It was already 6:30 when the banknote numbers were received, and U Sein Hlaing, after receiving further advice from the police chief, planned to go to U Lun Maung's house at 9:00 p.m. with the witnesses and the elders to arrest him. U Sein Hlaing could not sit still to arrest Judge U Lun Maung, and was very eager. The reason for this eagerness was not only due to ordinary work duties, but also because of a past "fear" of U Lun Maung.

U Sein Hlaing was a neighbor of U Lun Maung's in-laws and had been courting Myint with all his might before she got married. Myint was about to accept U Sein Hlaing's love when U Lun Maung appeared in the middle. At that time, U Sein Hlaing was still a criminal chief and U Lun Maung had just become a city chief.

In this way, the two competed for Myint's favor, and in the end, Myint turned down the young police officer who had only passed the 10th grade and followed the mayor, who wore a BA uniform.

From then on, U Sein Hlaing could not stop himself from hanging onto U Lun Maung until he met him, and now that he had found a good drink, he became more enthusiastic than usual, out of a sense of duty.

- Wun Klay. U Sein Hlaing and his disciple Maung Than Pe had just spent some time in a Chinese hotel room, drinking beers and then smoking cigarettes.

U Sein Hlaing said...

"What's wrong, Maung Than? The one who stole Myint from me is going to be in big trouble tonight, isn't he?"

"Of course, Sir, people are always in trouble... I've heard the news about his relationship with the King and Sir. Sir, I'm fine, but I've never told you about my illness. I only found out when you told me."

If this guy doesn't intervene, Myint will be in the hands of the teacher, and now that the man has been arrested, Myint himself will have to kneel before him, right?

"Of course, sir, women are supposed to be respected... If you don't give me bail tonight, wouldn't it be a good idea, sir... In that case, as the King himself said, he will come and kneel before me, right?"

Don't do this. Maung Than Pe, don't you know that he has his own circle and his own position? So even if you want to torture him, you still have to think about the repercussions that will come back to you, Maung Than Wai."

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry, but I don't want to be in debt anyway. If there's something to do, I like to do it right away."

'I'm just doing it, I don't need that much at first... There's still a lot of time after the first one,' he said.

"The teacher has the numbers ready... U Sein Hlaing checked the bag with his hand and then said, 'Yes, I have written it down carefully in my diary.'"

• "It's already 8:20, sir. We'll have to go...we'll have to call the elders and witnesses."

As soon as the two police officers left, the man in the other room put down the photograph hanging on the curtain. Then, with his hat slightly lower than before, he put his hands in the pockets of his tattered coat and went out with the Chinese boy who had cleared the table. When he reached the street, he got into the car he had previously driven, exited on Fraser Street, and drove east.

When he arrived near U Lun Maung's house on the outskirts of the city, he entered a small alley at the back of the yard and parked the car in a shady spot. Then he took out a small leather bag from under the seat and quickly changed his clothes. It was called an alley, but it was a place where garbage was dumped on the other side of the road, and there was no traffic.

After about 10 minutes, the man quickly cut two bars of barbed wire from the fence behind U Lun Maung's yard with a pair of scissors and entered the yard. When he reached the backyard fireplace, he disappeared under the shade of a large sycamore tree not far from the fireplace.

- Not long after that, a beautiful woman, about 50 years old, left the U Lun couple and got into a car that was waiting for her when they reached the road. The car quickly drove towards the city.

At that moment, the King, "Myint," took a large envelope that Daw Shin had put in the guest room from the basket set up for guests in the front living room and entered the bedroom with a happy face. In his eyes, he saw gold shops selling rubies and stones in Yodlam, sparkling with diamond earrings and diamond necklaces.

U Lun Maung, who was sitting on a wicker chair in the front room, first saw Myint, dressed in full diamond jewelry. Then, Myint's smiling face disappeared, and he saw police handcuffs, chains, and the walls of the prison.

As soon as Myint entered the room, he turned on the wall light and placed the envelope containing the money on the safe beside the bed. Then he took the key from under the mattress and opened the safe to put the money in.

At that moment, the lights in the whole house suddenly went out, and Myint was scared and shouted, " Ha! " However, the lights didn't go out for long. They came back on almost immediately.

As soon as the flashlights came back on, Myint was shocked and stunned to see a man pointing a revolver at him. He seemed to be of a medium height, but he had a slim, straight body. If he was not white, he had a black cloth covering the lower part of his face, and a hat pulled down almost to cover his eyes. The man's cheeks moved under the black cloth, and he laughed, then snatched the large envelope that Myint was holding.

“At that time, the safe had already been opened, and I could clearly see Myint’s small steel box, U Lun Maung’s pistol in a leather case, and the stack of banknotes, all clearly visible under the flashlight. However, the man holding the revolver did not even glance at the items. He only put the large envelope containing 5,000 baht into his trouser pocket.

At that moment, the flashlights went out again, and he shouted in surprise, "What the hell is going on?" However, about 10 seconds later, the flashlights came back on, and by that time, the bad guy was gone.

Myint ran out of the room, straightening his hair, and told U Lun Maung about the incident. Only then did U Lun Maung remain speechless. The second time the lights went out and came back on was no more than 10 seconds apart, and the door to the front of the house was closed, so the bad guy wouldn't be coming to the front of the house. He saw a window open on the side of the bedroom, so he could go through it to the veranda and down the back stairs.

U Lun Maung, drawing his revolver, and with his servants, he crossed the road and followed him down the back stairs. The yard was quite large, and it was about 50 feet from the back stairs to the fence. The servants searched inside and outside the yard, but they could not find anyone. When a guard walked along the fence and shone a flashlight on it, he saw that the top two rows of barbed wire had been cut.

At this point, U Lun Maung returned to the house, exhausted, and threw himself on the armchair in the front room. Myint, with his head hanging on the arms of the armchair, was crying like a child. The husband was saddened by the loss of his honor, and the wife, who had dreamed of the diamond earrings and the diamond necklace , could not help but feel helpless against the evil man who had ' struck ' them with one hand.