Maung Wa Khaung Non, age 19, was wounded in his thigh after the security police fired warning shots at over 300 scavengers, who were trying to find jade inside Kaung Su Yadanar Jade Company at around 8:15 am yesterday (October 15).

“The company is working officially in joint venture with the government so the scavengers have been given a fixed time. There are also specified rules. Scavengers are allowed in the mornings and evenings. No problem will arise if they follow the specified rules. If the scavengers follow the given rules, the situation would not have become worse like today,” U Kyaw Sar Aung, administrator of Hpakant, said to K.N.G.

The injured scavenger has been transferred from Hpakant Hospital to Myitkyina Hospital to undergo an operation.