Yanggang Province authorities are carrying out frequent inspections of people’s electricity usage in areas along the China-North Korea border so they can shake people down for bribes, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that “officials with electricity supply departments have been going around houses in Hyesan and other areas of the province to conduct thorough inspections as a ploy to get bribes, even if [all a household can offer] is just a pack of cigarettes.”
According to the source, households in Hyesan receive electricity for just one or two hours a day, but those in other parts of the province are even worse off. Household electricity inspections are generally carried out during periods when the electricity is working, leading many families to complain that they cannot even relax when electricity is flowing.
On Dec. 10, a household in Hyesan’s Hyetan-dong neighborhood was caught running a heater at two in the afternoon and reprimanded for using such an electricity-intensive appliance when the electricity situation is so poor.
Knowing that the electricity inspector would not leave empty-handed, one member of the household ran down to a nearby vendor and bought a pack of “Dawn” brand cigarettes (worth KPW 6,000) on credit. The individual handed the cigarettes over to the inspector and the issue was resolved without further incident.
“In the cold winter months, North Koreans use the few hours of electricity to turn on heaters to try to warm up their homes. Electricity officials know this and target their crackdowns to coincide [with when people are likely to use heaters],” the source explained. “If people refuse to hand over some money or cigarettes, the officials threaten to cut off electricity to the entire housing block for a month.
“Since it’s not only their own home but the entire housing block at risk, people beg the officers to ‘help them out’ or ‘look the other way just this once,’ but it’s no use. The only way to cover up the issue is to hand over a pack of cigarettes or something similar.”
Last week, a household in Pochon County was caught up in a raid for using an electric heating pad and even had the floor heating stones pulled up from the ground.
Electricity officials stormed into the housing unit 30 minutes after the electricity came on. Inspectors immediately busted the family after noticing that the room floor inside the house was warm compared to the drafty kitchen.
Officials ignored the family’s pleas to turn a blind eye to the incident. In the course of the argument, inspectors found the electric heating pad and took out all of the electrical cords in the house.
“People are trying to take advantage of the electricity [to heat their homes] even just for a moment, only to get caught in crackdowns and be forced to pay out more in bribes than it would cost to buy themselves firewood. People are extremely upset that officials are abusing their positions to squeeze money out of people by any means necessary,” the source said.
“It’s gotten to the point where when the electricity comes on, some people say ‘oh, the electricity officials are out to earn some cigarettes.’ It’s also the end of the year, so people’s doors are about ready to fall off their hinges from the flood of endless inspections.
Translated by Rose Adams. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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