Following the March 28 earthquake in Mandalay that caused the collapse of Great Wall Hotel, the hotel management offered compensation of 60 million kyats per victim, but Ma Hnin Hnin Shwe, who lost her husband and two daughters in the tragedy, has firmly rejected the offer. Her husband Ko Aung Phyo Zaw and daughters Shwe Eaindri Zaw and Hae Mi Khet were trapped inside the hotel during the earthquake. Due to delays in rescue operations, their bodies were only recovered 13 days after the incident. The family has expressed deep concerns about the hotel’s handling of the rescue efforts and subsequent management of the situation.
Ma Hnin Hnin Shwe has categorically refused to accept any compensation from the Great Wall Hotel, stating that from the beginning of the earthquake crisis, the hotel management made decisions without considering the affected families’ wishes. She emphasized that despite providing precise information about her family members’ location within the hotel, which was also captured on CCTV footage, the rescue operations were restricted to areas predetermined by the hotel management. She described how they had to struggle through numerous obstacles to recover the bodies of their loved ones, making any form of compensation meaningless in the face of their loss.
Of particular concern to Ma Hnin Hnin Shwe is the matter of a missing travel bag containing valuable jade items belonging to her late husband. She has repeatedly requested the hotel management to locate and return these items, but to date, they remain unrecovered. The only items returned to her were some clothing and a few small jade pieces intended as gifts for friends, while the more valuable jade items are still missing. She has emphasized that rather than monetary compensation, she desires the return of these items, which represent her husband’s final business endeavors. The Great Wall Hotel has reported that during their rescue operations from March 28 to April 12, they managed to rescue 9 survivors and recovered 16 deceased individuals, but the matter of the missing valuables remains unresolved.
