Officials on the take have long been a scourge of the people of Myanmar. There’s anecdotal evidence that since the coup, demands by police, soldiers and civil servants for bribes, tea money and kickbacks have become even more blatant. What follows provides a mere glimpse of a pervasive national problem, as Doh Athan explores the impact on corruption and graft on a few residents of Ayeyarwady Region, the vast rice-growing delta west of Yangon.