Torture alleged after Mrauk-U detainee hospitalised in Yangon 

By DMG 19 Jul 2022

DMG Newsroom
19 July 2022, Mrauk-U 

A Mrauk-U Township resident has had to receive medical treatment in Yangon after he was tortured while in military custody, according to relatives. 

Auto rickshaw taxi driver Ko Kyaw Win Hlaing was detained by Myanmar military personnel on June 22. He was sent to Yangon for medical treatment on July 3 after he sustained injuries during interrogation, said his wife Ma Hla Hla Myint. 

“The district police chief phoned to tell me that my husband was sick and needed to be hospitalised. He was initially sent to Sittwe. But the kidney problem screening machine at Sittwe Hospital was out of order and he was sent to Yangon for emergency treatment,” she said. “He has no underlying conditions, and was injured only after detention. He sustained both bodily and internal injuries.” 

Family members allege that he was beaten during interrogation and suffered kidney damage, as well as injuries to his arms and legs. 

When asked by DMG, the Mrauk-U District police chief said he contacted Ko Kyaw Win Hlaing’s family because he had underlying kidney problems. 

“He had to be sent to Yangon because Arakan State does not have a hemodialysis machine,” the police chief said. “As they are a very poor family, we paid their travel costs to Yangon. And we also allowed family members to accompany him because they think he was unfairly detained and beaten.” 

Ma Hla Hla Myint said she is concerned that Ko Kyaw Win Hlaing will be arrested all over again after he is discharged from the hospital. 

“I heard he has been charged with incitement. I heard that from soldiers who are guarding my husband at the hospital. I feel sorry and I am concerned that he might be arrested after he is discharged,” she said. 

DMG was unable to obtain comment from Arakan State Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Kyaw Thura and junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun. 

Ko Kyaw Win Hlaing was one of several Mrauk-U residents detained by the regime after the Arakan Army abducted three military security affairs officers in the town on June 21. 

Some have since been released, but eight people including Ko Kyaw Win Hlaing have remained in custody and are facing the prospect of criminal prosecution.