Family members unable to meet Kyaukphyu duo accused of raising funds for AA

By DMG 06 Jun 2022

DMG Newsroom
6 June 2022, Kyaukphyu  

The families of a man and a woman in Kyaukphyu who are being investigated by the Myanmar military on suspicion of raising funds for the Arakan Army (AA) have not been allowed to meet with the detained duo since their arrest last month, according to family members. 

U Than Hlaing, 41, and Daw Khin Ohn Ngwe, 56, from Ceditaung ward in Kyaukphyu, were taken into custody by security personnel from the military’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 34 on May 26, and are currently being held at Kyaukphyu Myoma police station. 

“We were allowed to meet my mother on the day of the arrest. My mother has asthma and does charitable work. My mother did not raise money for the Arakan Army, but worked for internally displaced people,” Ma Mra Hnin Ngwe Aung, the daughter of Daw Khin Ohn Ngwe, told DMG. 

They were reportedly detained by nine junta soldiers in plainclothes near Shwe U Restaurant. Ma Mra Hnin Ngwe Aung said they were charged under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, an incitement provision. 

Ma Cho Cho Thein, the wife of U Than Hlaing, said she wants her husband released as soon as possible as he has no ties to the Arakan Army and makes a living as a sidecar driver. 

“The court rescheduled the hearing for June 10. My husband is a sidecar driver and had an injury sustained in a motorbike accident. I want him released as soon as possible because he is the breadwinner in my family,” she told DMG. 

The head of the Kyaukphyu police station confirmed that the two detainees are facing 505(a) Penal Code charges, but he declined to provide specifics on the case. 

“We have not questioned them yet. They were sued under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code. We, the police, have to file a case if someone comes to sue, but I won’t reveal the plaintiff in the case,” said Police Major Khin Maung Swe, commander of the Kyaukphyu police station. 

The military also arrested the administrator of Abaung Thar village and another local man after regime troops clashed with the Arakan Army in Paletwa Township, Chin State, on May 26. 

The Arakan Army says relations between the Myanmar military and the ethnic armed group have become increasingly strained in recent months, warning that fighting in Arakan State could break out at any time.