Three people impersonating paramedics were arrested after police discovered passengers in the fake ambulances they were driving.
The trio were wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when they were stopped at a checkpoint at milepost 285 on the Yangon-Mandalay highway on October 11, according to The Voice.
The passengers were workers from Hlaing Tharyar township who were returning to their homes in Sagaing region after their workplaces suspended operations, said the Mandalay government. They were sent to a quarantine centre at the No. 1 Basic Education High School in Meiktila town.
Meanwhile, the three drivers will face up to three years in jail and a fine for negligence under section 25 of the Natural Disaster Management Law, said Meiktila police.
Mandalay regional minister Sai Parn Seng told The Voice that the vehicles belonged to a travel agency but resembled ambulances by sounding their sirens.
Travel outside Yangon region has been banned until October 31, as authorities struggle to prevent a second Covid-19 wave from overwhelming the country’s weak healthcare system.
Myanmar has recorded 32,351 infections, 765 deaths and 14,706 recoveries as of today (October 16).
