Two detained Sittwe village administrators charged with Forest Law, released on bail

By DMG 21 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
21 May 2022, Sittwe 

Two detained village administrators in Arakan State’s Sittwe Township were released on bail on May 20 after being charged under the Forest Law, according to family members. 

U Rawbi, the administrator of Bawdupa village, and U Tun Hla Sein, the administrator of Kyet Kaing Tan village, were sued under Section 41(a) of the Forest Law, family members said. 

“They were charged with the Forest Law, but the duo was released on bail. They will face trial at the court,” said a family member of U Tun Hla Sein. 

Military and police personnel took U Rawbi and U Tun Hla Sein from their homes on May 4. Authorities seized timber logs piled up near a sawmill owned by U Tun Hla Sein during the arrest, according to his family. 

“The two administrators were released on bail on May 20,” confirmed a family member of U Rawbi. 

Myanmar’s military detained seven Muslims and an Arakanese village administrator from Sittwe on May 3 and May 4, releasing six of the Muslims on May 5. The military also detained two Muslim 100-household heads from Aung Dine village-tract in Sittwe on April 9 and released the pair the next day. 

Prior to their release on bail Friday, the two village administrators had been held in police custody for more than two weeks, during which they were not allowed to meet with their families. 

In the absence of information from police, family members had suspected that the two village administrators were arrested on suspicion of having links to the Arakan Army (AA). But Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the Myanmar junta, rejected that speculation and recently told media that the arrests were made in connection with other case investigations.