Mok Choy Lin and a journalist from Singapore, Lau Hon Meng, have been charged by Myanmar police for allegedly breaching import laws, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported today.
They will be in custody until their first court hearing for the import and export of “restricted or banned goods” without obtaining a licence.
Two Myanmars, who were with them, have also been charged.
“We have opened a case against all four — two foreigners and two Burmese.
“They will be held on remand until Nov 10,” the SCMP report quoted deputy police colonel Kyaw Moe as saying.
The four were arrested on Friday in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw while they were on assignment for Turkish state broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television.
Mok, 47, and Lau, 44, were working with well-known Myanmar journalist Aung Naing Soe, who was working as an interpreter, and a local driver Hla Tin.
Neither of the locals has been allowed to see their families since the arrests, SCMP quoted one of the family members as saying.
The Myanmar information ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the Singaporean and Malaysian embassies had been informed.
The incident comes as tensions rise between Myanmar and Turkey over the treatment of Rohingya Muslims in the country.
There have been fears that press freedom in Myanmar has been declining following the arrests of several journalists this year.
Use of drone: Myanmar arrests 2 journalists from Malaysia, Singapore