Sales of razor wire have gone up amid concerns about home and business security.

WHENEVER she went out shopping, Daw Khin May Kyi was always concerned about her home’s security. At night, fear of trespassers kept her awake.

Then she noticed many rich people were putting razor-barbed wire on the gates and walls around their homes. Two months ago her family decided to take the same precautions for their house on the outskirts of Yangon.

“Now I feel my house is safe,” she said.

Many of Yangon’s wealthier residents are putting faith in barbed wire to protect the savings and possessions stashed in their expensive villas. Dealers say demand for the latest imported razor wire has spiked sharply in the past three years.

“We’ve been installing razor-barbed wire for 10 years, but it is only after 2003 that this business has boomed,” said Ko Thant Sin Win, co-owner of the Three Stars Group, one of a handful of Yangon companies selling imported barbed wire.

Before that, he said, business was slow because people didn’t see razor wire as a fitting addition to their home.

“They thought these wires were used only in prisons,” he said. “Psychologically they couldn’t accept it at first.”

But the new generation of razor wire – mostly imported from Thailand and Taipei – is both stronger and better looking than the old design produced by the Ministry of Industry (2), he said.

Over time, he said, some houses began installing the new wire and others followed.

Ko Thant Sin said he’s sure the product works. He recently heard from a former customer that a burglary was apparently foiled.

“They saw drops of blood on the wires the next morning,” he said.

U Khin Maung installed razor wire around his home in Bahan township two months ago, after burglars entered his property.

Before, he said, he thought the high walls around his house were enough security.

“But once my house was burgled, I realised I had to do something special,” he said.

There are two types of razor wire – flat overlapping rings and coils. Some people install two layers, usually with the flat rings below and the coils looped on top. Some see this design as attractive, besides being more secure.

It costs about K500,000 and up to line a home with razor wire, Ko Thant Sin Win said. Standard steel wire is available, he said, but galvanised steel is more popular. Besides private homes, he said, customers include embassies, factories and offices.