Feared missing, healthcare worker detained by military transferred to Paletwa police station

By DMG 24 Jan 2022

DMG Newsroom
24 January 2022, Paletwa, Chin State

A local man from Paletwa, Chin State, who was detained by the Myanmar military late last month and faces charges under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, has reportedly been transferred to Paletwa Township police station from the Arakan State capital Sittwe. 

Ko Tin Tun Aung was sent to Paletwa Township police station on January 23, a family member of the detainee told DMG. 

He was arrested on December 28 and now faces incitement accusations under the 505(a) provision of the Penal Code, after telling the Arakan State-based media outlet Western News that a white flag had been seen flying on a hill where a military battalion was stationed in Paletwa Township. 

He was transferred to Sittwe on January 12, according to U Min Aung, the elder brother of Ko Tin Tun Aung. 

“He arrived at the Paletwa Township police station on January 23. We were asked by the police to send food for him at about 8 p.m. So we have prepared food for him, but we have yet to meet him,” U Min Aung said.

U Tin Tun Aung was remanded until January 27 and lawyers in Sittwe and Kyauktaw have been called in to help with the case, the defendant’s brother added.

“Anyway, we were a little relieved as he was transferred to Paletwa Township police station,” U Min Aung said, referring to concerns about his brother’s well-being, which were expressed in recent days as he was held incommunicado. 

“We don’t know much about the case and how to face trial. One of the arrestees was released and I think both of them should be released. There is nothing wrong with either of them,” U Min Aung told DMG.

U Tin Tun Aung was arrested along with another man on December 28, after telling Western News about the white flag. The other man was released, but Ko Tin Tun Aung remains in custody.

The offending Western News report, meanwhile, has also landed the media outlet in legal hot water, with its editor-in-chief and a reporter facing charges. Many of the news agency’s employees have since gone into hiding, fearing potential arrest.