3-year-old girl raped in Pauktaw Twsp; alleged perpetrator arrested by AA

By Admin 07 Oct 2023

DMG Newsroom
7 October 2023, Pauktaw

A 3-year-old girl in Thayetchaung Village, part of Arakan State’s Pauktaw Township, was raped on Friday and the alleged perpetrator has been arrested by the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA), according to family members of the victim.

The acquaintance rape took place at about 7 p.m. on October 6 and the alleged perpetrator has been identified as Ko Kyi Hla Htay, 22, from Thayetchaung Village, said village officials.

“The perpetrator is a neighbour of the rape victim. He used to hold the girl in his arms and babysit her. When he came home from drinking yesterday, he gave the girl a bottle of soft drinks and bread, raped her in an unseen place, and sent her back home,” a family member told DMG.

The girl’s face and body were slightly scratched by fingernails and she was unable to urinate. She is currently receiving medical treatment at a private hospital in Sittwe. 

Village officials said the alleged perpetrator has been detained by local ULA officials and confessed to the rape.

Since September, there have been multiple cases of child rape in Arakan State. A 4-year-old girl was raped in downtown Mrauk-U on September 29. A 10-year-old girl in Tatyar Village on the outskirts of Buthidaung town was raped on September 4.

The perpetrators of sexual violence against minors are often relatives and acquaintances of their child victims. Women’s rights activists say that especially harsh and effective punishments should be imposed on those who rape young girls.

“Due to the lack of law enforcement and effective measures against crime under criminal law, it can be considered that such sexual violence is repeated,” said Daw Saw San Nyein Thu, chairwoman of the Rakhaing Women’s Initiative Organization.