Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that police in Rangoon in July tortured a 39-year-old man to death during interrogation over a murder. Officers at the Mayangone police station allegedly illegally detained the young man and after two days notified that family that he had died in custody due to illness. But when the family saw the body, they observed that he had been brutally tortured. The police have since arrested another person over the murder and have meanwhile denied that they were responsible for their victim’s death. The family of the young man is pushing for the case to be brought to court, but so far the police have successfully resisted their efforts.
CASE NARRATIVE:
On 28 June 2012, 19-year-old flower seller, Ma Poe Poe Mon was murdered in Mayangone Township, Rangoon. A week later, police from the township station arrested Myo Myint Swe, a carpenter of the same age, at his residence and accused him of being involved. Subsequently, on 6 July 2012, his mother, Daw Sein Sein and his cousin Ko Soe Lin were also taken by the same police station without a court order.
According to the testimony from Daw Sein Sein, while being held in custody for three days she was fed only once daily. Ko Soe Lin was interrogated and tortured. Both of them were set free on 8 July 2012, around 5pm. At around 10pm on the same day, the district police commander informed Daw Sein Sein that in the meantime her son had died from illness during interrogation.
The family members of Myo Myint Swe did not know what to make of this information. However, they took photographs of his body after post mortem examination and before he was cremated, and the pictures show clearly that he had been severely tortured. We include in this appeal one photograph of the victim’s shins, in which the scars and bruising from the rolling of a rubber or bamboo stick or similar instrument, a common form of torture in Burma, can be seen clearly.
The other photographs show that the right cheek and forehead of the deceased are heavily bruised and swollen, as is the left jaw and lower cheek. The neck of the deceased is black with bruising, and scars and bruises are obvious on his shoulders and back.
The doctor who conducted the post mortem on the body recorded on July 23 that the victim had died due to a heart attack.
Subsequently, the district police commander donated the equivalent of around USD600 to the family, for funeral expenses, and the victim’s mother accepted the money because she didn’t have the funds for the funeral. Later on police from Mayangone Township offered another amount, about double again; however, she refused to take the money, realizing that the police were trying to pay her off for her son’s death. She has insisted that a criminal case be opened against the perpetrators.
The victim’s family then tried to open a case against the commander of the Bayinnaung Police Station and the interrogators for murder, at the East Dagon Police Station on July 27, and at the Bayinnaung Police Station on July 28, but neither station would accept the complaint. Thereafter, Daw Sein Sein in August sent complaint letters to the Director General of Myanmar Police Force, Ministry of Home Affairs and the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, urging that the case be investigated properly and charges brought against the perpetrators in accordance with the law. So far the family has not to our knowledge received any replies to its complaints.
Furthermore, when the death inquest was held in court, it was registered as a simple death, not as a murder. When the death inquest hearing was being held, Daw Sein Sein also saw that the photographs of the deceased that the police submitted to court looked nothing like those that she had seen, and that they had evidently been modified with a computer program to conceal the scars and wounds on the dead body that can be clearly seen in the original photos. The court hearings into the death have since gone on without the family being informed of the dates on which the hearings are to be held.
According to an article that appeared in the media in late June, the deputy commander of the Rangoon Region Police had ordered that an internal investigation be conducted by two police majors; however, to date the family does not know what progress if any has been made by the investigation team, and whether they will whitewash the case or not, consistent with the actions of the other police so far.
Further details of the case can be found in the sample letter below, as usual.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
In Burma, when a case is opened for a serious crime at a police station, due to the absence of credible investigation, many poor innocent people are arrested as accused persons and tortured to confess to crimes that they have not committed. Some, like Myo Myint Swe, die during torture. Afterwards, police commonly claim that they have died as a result of illness, and rely on medical staff, prosecutors and judges to conspire with them to cover up their crimes.
The AHRC in recent times reported on the case of Nan Woh Phan, a young woman who died after falling from the headquarters of the Bureau of Special Investigation, an agency under the home affairs ministry, while being investigated over the land transactions of her husband, a Japanese national, whom the BSI has continued to hold in custody after he made a number of public statements accusing the bureau officers of murdering his wife: AHRC-STM-124-2012.
According to information obtained by the AHRC, in that case a number of officers have now received disciplinary action over the death, but no criminal action has been taken. We are concerned that in this case also the internal inquiry will end in some internal disciplinary action and not criminal action being taken against the perpetrators of Myo Myint Swe’s murder.
For many more cases and issues concerning human rights in Burma, visit the AHRC’s country homepage: http://www.humanrights.asia/countries/burma
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to the following government authorities to urge that the police responsible for the killing of Myo Myint Swe and also the other crimes, including detention of his family and cover up of the murder, be prosecuted.
Please note that for the purpose of the letter Burma is referred to by its official name, Myanmar, and Rangoon as Yangon.
Please also be informed that the AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights in Myanmar; on torture, and on extrajudicial killings; and, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and regional office in Bangkok, calling for their interventions into this matter.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
MYANMAR: Prosecute police for torture to death of innocent man in custody
Name of victim: Myo Myint Swe (alias Kalar Gyi, Pyi Soe, Hnin Si), 39, carpenter and labourer, resident of New Dagon (East) Township, Yangon
Names of persons involved:
1. Sub Inspector Tin Naing Zaw, Bayinnaung Police Station (investigating officer), Yangon
2. Inspector Ngwe Soe, Commander, Bayinnaung Police Station (inquest officer)
3. Police Lieutenant Colonel Myo Aung, Commander, Northern District Police Force, Yangon
4. Police Captain Kyaw Zin Win, Commander, Mayangone Township Police Force, Yangon
5. Doctor Ye Win, Crimes Doctor, Insein Hospital
Date of incident: 5 July 2012
Place of incident: Top floor of Mayangone Township Police Station, Yangon
Death inquest: Criminal Miscellaneous Case No. 161/2012, Mayangone Township Court, Township Judge Daw Aye Mya Theingi presiding
I am writing to urge that the police who tortured a young man to death in custody and detained two members of his family illegally be prosecuted without delay.
According to the information that I have received, on 28 June 2012, 39-year-old flower seller, Ma Poe Poe Mon was murdered at her home in Ward 2 of Mayangone Township, Yangon. The murder was covered in Myanmar domestic media (see for instance Shutaung Crime News, 16 July 2012).
A week later, on June 5 police arrested Myo Myint Swe, a carpenter of the same age, at his residence and took him to the Mayangone Township Police Station for interrogation into the murder. Subsequently, on 6 July 2012, his mother, first his cousin Ko Soe Lin and then his mother Daw Sein Sein were also taken by the same police station without a court order (at about 2pm and 8pm respectively).
According to the testimony from Daw Sein Sein, while being held in custody for three days she was fed only once daily. Ko Soe Lin was interrogated and tortured at the Bayinnaung Police Station. Both of them were set free on 8 July 2012, around 5pm. At around 10pm on the same day, Police Lt-Col. Myo Aung informed Daw Sein Sein that in the meantime her son had died of illness during interrogation at about 3.30pm that day.
The family members of Myo Myint Swe took photographs of his body after post mortem examination and before he was cremated, and the pictures show clearly that he had been severely tortured. The photographs show that the right cheek and forehead of the deceased are heavily bruised and swollen, as is the left jaw and lower cheek. The neck of the deceased is black with bruising, and scars and bruises are obvious on his shoulders and back. In another photograph of the victim's shins, scars and bruising from the rolling of a rubber or bamboo stick or similar instrument, can be seen clearly.
Doctor Ye Win, who conducted the post mortem, recorded that the deceased had died due to a heart attack. However, the family and other persons involved in the case are incredulous and believe that the doctor is conspiring with the police to prevent a criminal case being opened against the killers. Before his death, Myo Myint Swe was a young and healthy man who was involved in heavy manual labour and had not had any evidence of serious illness.
Subsequently, the district police commander donated 500,000 kyat (around USD600) to the family, for funeral expenses, and the victim's mother accepted the money because she didn't have the funds for the funeral. Later on police from Mayangone Township offered another million kyat; however, she refused to take the money, realizing that the police were trying to pay her off for her son's death. She has insisted that a criminal case be opened against the perpetrators.
The victim's family then tried to open a case against the commander of the Bayinnaung Interrogation Centre, U Ngwe Soe and the interrogators for murder at the East Dagon Police Station on July 27 and at the Bayinnaung Police Station on July 28 but neither station would accept the complaint. Thereafter, Daw Sein Sein in August sent complaint letters to the Director General of Myanmar Police Force, Ministry of Home Affairs and the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, urging that the case be investigated properly and charges brought against the perpetrators in accordance with the law. So far the family has not to our knowledge received any replies to its complaints.
Furthermore, when the death inquest was held in court, it was registered as a simple death, not as a murder. When the death inquest hearing was being held, Daw Sein Sein also saw that the photographs of the deceased that the police submitted to court looked nothing like those that she had seen, and that they had evidently been modified with a computer program to conceal the scars and wounds on the dead body that can be clearly seen in the original photos. The court hearings into the death have since gone on without the family being informed of the dates on which the hearings are to be held.
According to an article in the Voice news journal of 23 July 2012, the deputy commander of the Rangoon Region Police said that the victim had fallen unconscious during interrogation at around 3pm on July 8, and died on his way to hospital. He said that he had ordered that an internal investigation be conducted, with an investigation team comprising Police Major Than Htun (chairman) and Police Major Ne Win; however, to date the family does not know what progress if any has been made.
It is pretty obvious to me that in this case efforts are being made by police at all levels and other personnel to cover up the torture to death of a young man in police custody. I am aware of other cases of this sort, such as the death of Nan Woh Phan at the Bureau of Special Investigation headquarters, in which the perpetrators have been let off with only disciplinary punishment, if any punishment at all. Such punishment is by no means satisfactory or adequate. I call for a full high-level investigation to find those officers responsible for the killing and prosecute them, as the family has requested. I also urge that a full investigation be conducted into the attempts to cover up the murder of senior police and the medical doctor, and that action be taken against them likewise.
At this time that political conditions in Myanmar are changing, it is of utmost importance that institutional changes also be made to hold government officers accountable for crimes of this sort. If police in Myanmar are able to continue to get away with murder, as they had been in past years of military dictatorship, it will spell ill for the efforts to effect change at other levels of society and government. Therefore, cases of this sort serve as important test cases in the current period, for us to assess the credibility and quality of the changes taking place.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. U Hla Min
Minister for Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs
Office No. 10
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 412 079+95 67 412 079/ 549 393/ 549 663
Fax: +95 67 412 439
2. U Thein Sein
President of Myanmar
President Office
Office No.18
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
3. U Tun Tun Oo
Chief Justice
Office of the Supreme Court
Office No. 24
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: + 95 67 404 080+ 95 67 404 080/ 071/ 078/ 067 or + 95 1 372 145+ 95 1 372 145
Fax: + 95 67 404 059
4. Dr. Tun Shin
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Office No. 25
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 404 088+95 67 404 088/ 090/ 092/ 094/ 097
Fax: +95 67 404 146/ 106
5. U Kyaw Kyaw Htun
Director General
Myanmar Police Force
Ministry of Home Affairs
Office No. 10
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel: +95 67 412 079+95 67 412 079/ 549 393/ 549 663
Fax: +951 549 663 / 549 208
6. Thura U Aung Ko
Chairman
Pyithu Hluttaw Judicial and Legislative Committee
Pythu Hluttaw Office
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
7. U Aung Nyein
Chairman
Pyithu Hluttaw Judicial and Legislative Committee
Committee for Public Complaints and Appeals
Office of the Amyotha Hluttaw
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
8. U Win Mra
Chairman
Myanmar National Human Rights Commission
27 Pyay Road
Hlaing Township
Yangon
MYANMAR
Tel: +95-1-659 668+95-1-659 668
Fax: +95-1-659 668
9. Ko Ko Hlaing
Chief Political Advisor
Office of the President
Naypyitaw
MYANMAR
Tel-+95-1-532 501+95-1-532 501 ext-605 / 654 668
Fax-+95-1-532 500, 654 668
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
