A tragic incident in Shwe Kyar Lay village, Nat Hmyu village tract, Mawlamyinekyun Township, Ayeyarwady Region has sparked fear among local residents. On September 10, village administrator Sein Myint and his associates Sai Mya Thu, Myint Aye, and Tin Lwin brutally attacked a villager named Win Htun Oo following a verbal dispute. The group tied up Win Htun Oo with rope and subjected him to severe physical abuse, including punching and striking his head with a pole, before leaving him seriously injured.
After the assault, family members and villagers found Win Htun Oo and brought him home for medical treatment. However, due to the severity of his injuries, he succumbed to his wounds on September 11. Notably, despite the brutality of this murder, local police allowed the village administrator Sein Myint and his associates to flee the village without any legal consequences or arrest attempts. This has highlighted the apparent impunity with which local authorities can act against civilians in the area.
According to local residents, village administrator Sein Myint and his associates have a history of abusing their power over villagers, regularly collecting various fees and demanding money for military service. The deceased, Win Htun Oo, was 39 years old and is survived by his wife and two young daughters, aged 7 and 10 years old. The incident has created an atmosphere of fear in the village, with residents too afraid to speak out against the perpetrators’ violence. A relative of the deceased revealed that the perpetrators only fled after Win Htun Oo’s death, having initially remained in the village following the assault. This case exemplifies the ongoing issues of abuse of power and lack of accountability in local administration, particularly in rural areas where civilian protection mechanisms are weak or non-existent.
