Taungup court sentences 33 Muslims to one year in prison on Immigration Act charges

By DMG 28 Dec 2021

DMG Newsroom
28 December 2021, Taungup 

Thirty-three of 76 Muslims who were arrested last week in Taungup Township, Arakan State, were charged under the Immigration Act and sentenced to one year in prison by the Taungup Township Court on Tuesday. 

Seventeen men, 49 women and 11 children, who were travelling from Maungdaw Township to Yangon, were detained near Mile Post No. 86 on the Padaung-Taungup road in Taungup Township on December 22. A 14-year-old boy among the detainees died under murky circumstances, with initial reports indicating he asphyxiated but the Arakan State regime council saying he died of a heart attack. 

The 33 detainees convicted on Tuesday were charged under Sections 62 and 63 of the Immigration Act and were each sentenced to one year behind bars, said Police Second Lieutenant Khin Maung San from the Taungup Township police station. 

“Among the 76 detained people, eight males and 25 females were sentenced to one year’s imprisonment under the Immigration Act,” he said. 

It is not yet known what will happen to the remaining 43 detainees, the police officer said. 

The 77 Muslims were found aboard a cargo truck. The driver, U Moe Win from Sitkone town in Magway Region’s Mindon Township, and his assistant, U Si Thu from Sakhangyi village in Yangon Region’s Hlegu Township, were also arrested. 

In November, 228 Muslims were arrested after the boat they were on was intercepted by the Myanmar navy in waters off the coast of Arakan State. They were reportedly travelling from refugee camps in Bangladesh, with their intended destination being Malaysia. 

Among them, 109 adults were convicted of illegal immigration and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by the Maungdaw Township Court on December 14. 

Of the remainder, 29 children under the age of 10 were handed over to their families and 90 people under the age of 18 were released by the Maungdaw Township Court.