One man slain, another missing in apparent Ponnagyun Twsp cattle theft

By Myo Thiri Kyaw 06 Jan 2021

Myo Thiri Kyaw | DMG
6 January 2021, Sittwe 

A farmer was murdered and another went missing from their farm huts about 1.5 kilometres from Kyaw Zan village in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township on Tuesday.  

U Tun Thein, 52, was found bound, gagged and badly beaten, and apparently died of those injuries. U Aung Naing, 34, has gone missing and 12 cows were also stolen between the two of them, according to their relatives. 

Both men are residents of Kyaw Zan village and their farm huts are near one another. 

U Tun Thein was staying at his farmland overnight for the final harvest of the season, his brother-in-law U Hla Sein Tun told DMG. 

“When his son went to his hut this morning [Wednesday], he only found his dead body, bound and gagged with his longyi. Their six cows were also stolen. His children are still young,” U Hla Sein Tun said. 

Relatives of U Aung Naing said he went missing along with his six cows.  

“We don’t know who has taken him or where he was taken. So we are quite concerned that he might have been killed and his body was dumped somewhere,” said his brother-in-law U Tun Maung. 

Similar criminal activity was reported in the area some three years ago, local villagers said. DMG was unable to obtain comment from the Ponnagyun Township police station regarding Tuesday’s incident. 

Arakan State lawmaker U Aung Than Tin, who represents Ponnagyun Township, said there is no rule of law nor security in his constituency’s rural villages. 

On December 21, armed robbers stole seven buffaloes from a farmer in Rathedaung Township. Cows were also reported stolen in Manaung Township last month.