Sai Pan Mawng 

filed photo: S.H.A.N.

Sai Pan Mawng aka Chen Guantai who was detained on 27 December in Tachilek with a cache of arms and an undisclosed amount of drugs has a high chance of being "absolved from all his sins," according to Pegasus, S.H.A.N. correspondent on the border.

"Confessions from him had been highly useful in the follow-up seizures and arrests," said a long resident in Tachilek. "Of course there were reports about him being injected with scopolamine (also known as truth drug) but they could not be substantiated."

As a result, Sai Pan Mawng who is being detained at Kengtung prison faces only one charge: possession of 38 yaba pills for personal consumption.

He is often seen visiting his wife and parents-in-law at Kengkhoom Quarter during the daytime but going back to prison only to sleep.

The New Light of Myanmar reported on 20 February Burma had seized 12 million ATS tablets last month, 4 times the total collected for all of 2005.

Pan Mawng joined the Mong Tai Army in 1988 along with several Shan students and became a close aide of Falang aka Chang Hsu-chuan, the Manchurian-born chief of staff of the MTA. He surrendered along with others in 1996 and became a pro-Rangoon militia leader in Tachilek.

Falang, (Filed photo: S.H.A.N.)