Taungup Twsp man abducted by unidentified armed men

By Hnin Nwe 25 Nov 2020

Hnin Nwe | DMG
25 November 2020, Sittwe

A resident of Padar village in Arakan State’s Taungup Township was taken by a group of masked men armed with sticks and machetes while he was returning from Taungup town after withdrawing cash from a bank, according to family members and a village administrator.

Ko Aung Lwin, 31, and his younger sister were returning from Taungup with cash withdrawn from a bank in town when a group of masked men stopped their motorbike near Kamar village and took the brother away at about 5 p.m. on November 23, said U Maung Ohn Myint, the Padar village administrator.

“According to the abductee’s younger sister, four or five people stopped their motorcycle on the way back and made them kneel. The masked men beat her brother and took him away,” the village administrator told DMG. “The abductee’s younger sister said she could not recognise the faces of the men because she had to keep her head down. But none of the money was taken away.”

He went on to say that family members’ statements about the abductee have been provided to the township administrator.

It is still unknown which group abducted Ko Aung Lwin, but family members reportedly went to a police station to put the case on law enforcement’s radar.

The family members did not file a case for fear of endangering their lives, but an investigation is being launched, said Police Inspector Zaw Win, chief of the Lamu police station in Taungup Township.

“Those who took the victim must be arrested if there is strong evidence. I think the family members will not testify. The kidnappers were not wearing uniforms. They were wearing masks and holding machetes and sticks, so they could not be seen by eyewitnesses. In any case, even if the family members do not file a case, we have a responsibility to investigate as we have been notified,” the police chief added.

An acupuncturist from Sarpyin village in Taungup Township was handcuffed and detained by a group of armed men in civilian clothes on May 31. The case is still under investigation and no suspects have yet been arrested, according to a source from the Taungup Township police station.