Freelance Singaporean photographer Lau Hon Meng remains in detention in Myanmar after聽he was arrested while doing his job. But聽Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has since assured that聽it has his back.
Contracted by Turkish Radio and Television along with Malaysian journalist Mok Choy Lin, the two were planning to take pictures of parliament buildings and pagodas in the capital city of Naypyidaw when they were spotted by security guards. They聽have reportedly been charged and investigated for breaching export and import laws 鈥 the drone they brought in was allegedly imported without permission.
In response to media queries,聽the ministry聽noted that the Singaporean embassy in Yangon has been notified of the case. According to the Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lau was detained by the authorities for the unauthorized video recording of the聽parliament building with a drone on October 27.
鈥淭he Embassy will provide the necessary consular assistance to Mr. Lau and is closely monitoring developments to ensure that due process is accorded to Mr. Lau,鈥澛爐he ministry聽, adding that聽it is in close contact with his family.
The arrests come amid tension between Turkey and Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declaring it a 鈥済enocide鈥 perpetrated by the Myanmar government.
Several journalists have been arrested in Myanmar this year and charged for defamation or for their affiliation with 鈥渦nlawful鈥 organizations, calling into question the sincerity of press freedoms introduced at the end of direct military rule in 2011.
Alongside Lau and Mok,聽police also arrested Aung Naing Soe, a photographer聽they hired as an interpreter. The former聽黑料社 Yangon聽staffer鈥檚 religious background and his reputation for covering issues affecting Myanmar鈥檚 Muslim communities have made him a long-time target for harassment by nationalist groups in the country.
Last Friday, 25 police and local officials raided Aung Naing Soe鈥檚 home without a warrant and seized his computer and memory devices.
