Detained Sittwe man with mental disability being treated in prison

By DMG 26 Aug 2022

DMG Newsroom
26 August 2022, Sittwe

A mentally ill man arrested by the Myanmar military is in poor health and undergoing treatment in Sittwe Prison, according to family members.

U Maung Pu, a resident of the Arakan State capital, has been suffering from mental illness for the past three years and takes medication daily.

The drugs U Maung Pu takes are purchased from an outside clinic and sent through the prison doctor, his mother Daw Ma Thein Hla told DMG.

“He has been suffering from mental illness for the past three years. I bought medicine from a psychiatrist and sent it to him through the prison doctor. He can only calm down if he takes medicine and can’t live without taking medicine. I bought medicine and sent it to him through a prison doctor on August 22,” she explained.

U Maung Pu was among those arrested by the military on June 23 and 24 in Sittwe following the Arakan Army’s detention of two junta soldiers.

Daw Ma Thein Hla said her son was in poor health and had been arrested without proof, calling on authorities to release him as soon as possible.

“I want him released as soon as possible because he is in poor health. I can’t afford to hire a lawyer to represent my son at trial” she added.

The Myanmar military charged four Sittwe men including U Maung Pu with incitement under Section 505 of the Penal Code at the Sittwe Township Court.