An as-yet unidentified perpetrator tried to extort money from a Denko gasoline station located on the highway in Kyaukme, northern Shan State, on Monday. 

A letter was reportedly left stating that a bomb had been placed in the gas station’s bathroom, and to ensure it would not go off, the gas station owners had to give the perpetrator 1 million kyat. The letter was reportedly discovered by a cleaner. 

“The letter stated that a landmine was planted in the toilet and the landmine would go off if… we [didn’t] give the demanded money,” eyewitness Sai Tun, said. 

A police officer from Kyaukme police station said that upon investigation, the landmine was not real. 

“The bomb is not dangerous. It is a handmade fake bomb,” the police officer told SHAN. 

The individual who wrote the letter and left it on the premises remains unknown.