The Myanmar junta authorities are cracking down on a British Colonial Era rule, revived following the coup, that requires house owners to register guests, the focus being on Tamwe Township in Yangon.

According to some local residents, the overnight guest registration is being checked in Tamwe Township, Yangon. If the people do not register the guest list at the ward-administration office, they are taken to the relevant ward-administration office and have to pay a penalty, according to reports.

From 13 to 22 June, a team including junta soldiers, ward administrators and police inspected the overnight guest registration in the houses on 13 roads and streets in Tamwe Township.

The inspections of the overnight guest registration are reportedly being conducted around 10 p.m. over the last few days in several townships of Yangon.

''I am from Htay Kywe Ward in Tamwe Township, Yangon. On the day of the overnight guest registration inspection, residents who did not register the guest list were taken to the ward administration office and the ward administrator fined them 10,000 Kyat per person. It is like extortion,” explained a resident in Tamwe Township.

“They inspect the streets that they want to inspect,” said a resident from Tamwe.

The overnight guest registration inspection team has been conducting the surprise checks in Tamwe Township almost every night, according to locals.

The actions are being taken under the Ward or Village Tract Administration Law which requires citizens to report overnight guests to authorities. It originated in 1907 under British Colonial rule, and the law was modified under the Thein Sein regime in 2012. During the National League for Democracy-led government period, the administration abolished the law. After the coup, the military revived the law again. The residents will face a fine or imprisonment if they do not report guests to the local authorities.