Verdict postponed for Kyaukphyu pair charged with incitement

By Admin 21 Jun 2023

DMG Newsroom
21 June 2023, Kyaukphyu

A verdict in the case against a man and woman in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township arrested on suspicion of having links to the Arakan Army (AA) has been postponed, according to family members.

A verdict for the accused — U Than Hlaing, 41, and Daw Khin Ohn Ngwe, 56 — from Ceditaung Ward in the town of Kyaukphyu, was scheduled for June 20. But the court instead scheduled another hearing for July 4 due to the lack of permission from a superior, said a source close to the court.

“Both sides submitted a final appeal to the court. The judge did not deliver the final verdict in the court due to lack of permission from the superior. The case was adjourned until July 4,” the source added.

Accused of raising funds for the Arakan Army, U Than Hlaing and Daw Khin Ohn Ngwe were taken into custody by security personnel from the military’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 34 on May 26, 2022.

Lieutenant Ye Thet Zaw from a Kyaukphyu-based military battalion filed a lawsuit against the pair under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code at the township court.

The case has been ongoing for more than a year, and all witnesses involved in the case have been examined, but the judge has yet to deliver a final verdict.

“My husband is a sidecar driver. He was accused of raising funds for the Arakan Army. I want him released as soon as possible because he is the breadwinner in my family,” said Ma Cho Cho Thein, the wife of U Than Hlaing.

According to a DMG tally, the regime detained around 50 people in the latest period of fighting, charging many of them under the Unlawful Associations Act, or with incitement under Section 505 of the Penal Code.