Murder of 10-year-old girl in Buthidaung Twsp leaves family searching for answers

By DMG 01 Feb 2022

DMG Newsroom
1 February 2022, Buthidaung

Family members are demanding justice and answers following the murder of a 10-year-old girl outside a Muslim village in Buthidaung Township, Arakan State.

The victim has been identified as Ma Zar Nul Kar, from Hsinthaypyin village. She went missing while playing outside the village on the morning of January 28.

Family members reportedly searched the area and found the Muslim girl’s body in a field east of the village at around 6 p.m. on the day of her disappearance.

“The girl’s gold earrings were stolen. There were bruises on her neck and she also had bite marks on her mouth. First her clothes and shoes were found, and then we discovered her naked body,” an uncle of the victim told DMG.

U Ma Mat Lin, the victim’s father, said he had lodged a complaint with the Arakan Army (AA) and the Buthidaung Township police station, and wanted the case to be investigated as soon as possible.

“I want to say that my daughter’s death is an unjust death. I want the perpetrator to be afforded due process under the law. I lodged a complaint with the Arakan Army about the case,” he said.

The girl’s body was taken to Buthidaung Hospital for autopsy but one was not conducted for reasons that remain unclear, family members said.

“Any doctor has the right to present a post-mortem in court. This is our ethic and I cannot answer your question,” Dr. Soe Min Thein, a township medical superintendent, told DMG when asked about the lack of autopsy. “I can confirm that the girl’s body arrived at the hospital on January 29.”

Ma Zar Nul Kar was cremated on Saturday evening.

A case has been filed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which covers murder, and the girl’s death is being investigated, said Soe Win, a police inspector from the No. 3 Border Guard Force in Buthidaung Township.