BURMA: Two more alleged killings in police custody; no investigations

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has information of two more alleged killings by the police in Burma that appear to have been successfully covered up. Although in both cases complaints have been made to the authorities, no action is known to have been taken against any of the accused officers.

After both of these incidents occurred, the AHRC monitored what happened next and has attempted to obtain updated information. But it appears that as in other similar cases (see further below) the authorities have effectively blocked and intimidated the families of the victims.

The two cases are as follows (details from the Yoma 3 news service [Thailand] and other sources). Please note that for reasons of security, the names of witnesses and some other persons familiar with these cases cannot be revealed in this appeal.

1. Maung Lin Lin Naing: Died in custody; body destroyed without informing family

Eighteen-year-old Maung Lin Lin Naing had gone to trade in beans at Panut village in Daik-U Township, Pegu Division of lower Burma and in the daytime on 8 February 2007 was on his way back to his village for a wedding ceremony when he stopped at the Shwe Min Store in Phadoe town to buy some provisions. The store owner, Ko Aung Toe Hlaing, reportedly accused Lin Lin Naing of theft and had him arrested.

According to the police record, at 4pm the next day, February 9, Lin Lin Naing was found hanged in the Phadoe police lock up; the police also showed concerned persons a photograph of the young man hanging from some discarded clothing. At 7pm on February 10, without having informed the family, the police hired four persons to dispose of the body.

The family of Lin Lin Naing together with their local council official went to ask the police how the young man had died and where they could find the remains, but they did not get any straight answers. On February 17 they were forced to hold the religious ceremony for his death without them.

According to a Radio Free Asia shortwave broadcast, they repeatedly attempted to call the police station to verify the story but no one answered the telephone.

A human rights defender helping the family has said that they had been warned by the police and Phadoe local officials that they would be “shut up” if they tried to complain about the death. Nonetheless, on March 21 the family lodged a complaint with the home affairs minister, in accordance with advertisements in state newspapers inviting people to make complaints about the wrongdoing of government officers. No action is known to have been taken since.

2. Htwee Maung: Beaten to death at police station

On the night of 4 January 2007 30-year-old Htwee Maung had gone to watch a traditional variety show by the Tahkainglonesein Troupe at the Pyilonechanthar Buddhist Monastery in Myepone town of Taunggut Township, Arakan State, on the western coastline of Burma. According to one witness, he had been sitting quietly but nearby there was a rowdy crowd. When the police moved in, immediately people began running away and the police failed to apprehend anyone in the group that was supposedly making trouble. Thereafter two officers, Police Corporals Kyaw Myint and Soe Naing, arrested Htwee Maung in their stead.

The police took Htwee Maung to the Myepone lock up. At 6am the next morning the police chief, Station Officer Myo Thant, sent him to the local hospital, but he was dead on arrival. According to a person who saw his body, there were serious injuries to his head and over his right eye, and the doctor who examined the body said that it was an obvious case of “excessive force” by the police.

Htwee Maung was a trishaw driver who had supported his parents with his small earnings in addition to his wife and two children. According to the report from Yoma 3, after he died around 200 other local trishaw drivers rallied outside the police station to demand an investigation, but again nothing was done. A person in the locality said that the victim’s family had been threatened not to complain.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Unfortunately, these cases follow a familiar pattern in Burma, where ordinary persons suffer assault and oftentimes death at the hands of officials, and when they or their families attempt to complain they are intimidated and silenced. Among other such cases taken up by the AHRC have been:

Ko Naing Oo: beaten to death in the custody of local officials in March 2007; in his case it was claimed that he died due to “a cold”, despite his obvious external physical injuries; the family was intimidated into silence (UA-096-2007)

Maung Chan Kun: beaten to death in police custody in January 2007; his body was dumped in hospital covered in severe injuries, but the police claimed that he died due to malaria; the family was not informed when the case came up in court and has been intimidated (UP-084-2007; UA-023-2007)

Maung Ne Zaw: allegedly beaten to death in custody by Special Anti-drug Squad police; his mother fled to Thailand after constant harassment and threats due to her attempts to obtain justice (UA-222-2006)

Ko Thet Naing Oo: allegedly beaten to death by municipal officers and fire fighters in a public market; after his mother campaigned for justice, the police arrested and charged a group of innocent bystanders with his death (UP-064-2006, UP-060-2006, UA-097-2006)

Ko Aung Hlaing Win: allegedly tortured to death by military intelligence; his wife lodged detailed appeals in the courts on the irregularities in his case, including the non-return of her husband’s body (whom the state claimed died of a heart attack), but these were summarily dismissed at all levels (UA-110-2005)

The case of Htwee Maung is also reminiscent of the case of Nyi Nyi Htut, who was similarly picked up by police as a substitute for the persons whom they were actually pursuing: UA-285-2006.

These are but a few of the many such cases going on in Burma. Remarkably, the key United Nations agency working on crime with an office in Burma, the UN Office on Drugs & Crime, in its 2005 country profile has claimed that there are “not even anecdotal reports of murders, rapes or kidnappings” in Burma and that “crime does not appear to be a major concern among the population” there. Letters sent by the AHRC to the office raising questions about this assessment and offering details of serious crimes where the police and other state officers are the accused met with no reply (AHRC-OL-030-2006). See also “Why can’t the UN crime office find crime?” (UPI Asia Online).

See further: AS-165-2006, AS-070-2006 and AS-015-2006.

See also the 2006 AHRC Human Rights Report chapter on Burma, and visit the AHRC Burma homepage: http://burma.ahrchk.net. 

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Minister of Home Affairs and other concerned persons below calling for an immediate investigation into these alleged deaths in custody. Please note that for the purpose of the letter, the country should be referred to by its official title of Myanmar, rather than Burma; Bago rather than Pegu, and Rakhine rather than Arakan.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER