Khun Sa Arrested

Khun Sa Arrested! 

Back To The Past-Today
20 October 1969 

Khun Sa a.k.a Chang Sheefu, well-known militia chief of Loimaw, was taken into custody by the Burmese Army today. 

Khun Sa, 35, was in Taunggyi "to attend a special meeting" called by the Eastern Command. The meeting did not materialize, and he was detained by Col. Than Tin, the Eastern Command's commander, instead. 

According to him, it was the "Kuomintang remnants" who sold him out to the Burmese by informing them that he was plotting to rebel. 

The KMT and Khun Sa fought for 3 days on the Laotian soil in 1967, later to be known as the "1967 Opium War". They also fought again the following year in northern Shan State's Monglern. Failing to dislodge Khun Sa from the fight over the monopolization of the opium trade, the KMT had resorted to "selling information to the Burmese", according to Khun Sa. 

Khun Sa was to spend nearly 5 years in jail until he was released on 7 September 1974. 

However, observers noted that Khun Sa knew beforehand that he might be arrested, and he anticipated it by getting in touch with the Shan State Army. As a result, most of his troops were able to escape disarmament by the Burma Army and join the SSA. 

"How could he know beforehand and then allow himself to be arrested?", Khun Kya Nu, one of the skeptical observers questioned. He for one believed instead that Khun Sa was going through an elaborate planning for action against the Shan resistance, under the tutelage of the Burma Army.