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Family allege torture by police to force a confession from a 13-year-old accused of rape and murder in Mawlamyine

WCRP: A 13-year-old boy’s family is accusing police of torture to try to force a confession from a 13-year-old boy after he was taken into custody. Thirteen-year-old Mg A— is suspected of raping and killing his 8-year-old adoptive sister on November 18^th in the Tar Yar Aye Quarter of Mawlamyine, Mon State. The perpetrator’s family said that the boy is currently being held in a Youth Care Training Center, under the control of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief, and Resettlement.

On October 18^th, around 10 am, the victim left for her aunt’s house but never returned home. The family, worried, went to look for her but could not find her. The family reported her as missing to the police on November 19^th, and her body was found around 2 pm in a brick-making pit near Hlaing Yadanar Street.

The police suspected the 13-year-old brother, Mg A—, and arrested him on November 1^st around 11 pm.

“Police from the Zayar Thiri Police Station took my son to the police station two times and sent him back home on November 1^st. Then they took my son again at around 11 pm [that day] while we were sleeping. I was not at home as I was selling at my shop at the festival in Mawlamyine. After I got back home at 3 am, my husband was sick and told me that the police had not returned our son back home yet. Early the next morning, I went to police station and I asked to meet with my son, but they did not allow me to see him,” said Daw T—, the mother of 13-year-old boy.

On November 2^nd, the boy’s father died from a previous illness. On the evening of that day, the mother of the boy phoned the police asking to send food to her son, but police told her that her son had been sent to the Youth Care Training Center in San Kyi, Mawlamyine.

Daw T— explained, “The police did not tell us about sending my son to the center and they did not let us meet with our son. I met him only once on the day of his father’s funeral on the Saturday. His father did not have a chance to see him.”

She added, “My son told me on the phone that on November 1^st the police took my son to the police station and tried to force him to confess. The police also told my son that if he confessed that he raped and killed the girl, they would send him back home. However, my son said he did not do it [sign the confession], even though the police forced my son to stand up as if he was driving a motorbike for the entire night [not allowing him to sit].”

Inspector Maung Win from the Zayar Thiri Police Station explained, “The boy and the female victim were not real brother and sister. The female victim was an adoptive daughter of the boy’s parents. While the female victim disappeared from the house, the boy was not at home. We suspected him as the perpetrator because once we searched and found the girl, we could not find him as well.”

However, Mg A—’s neighbors informed the police that he had been playing with his friends in the village while the victim went missing.

Ma Thidar Aye, who lives on the same street as the boy explained, “Most children normally like to play in front of our house with my child. He [Mg A—] was playing with his friends in front of my house on that day. My child fell asleep early that night, and after we watched television at about 11 pm, I saw the boy, Mg A—, was sleeping and we woke him up and told him to go back home.”

The neighbors commented that it was not impossible that the boy raped and killed his adoptive sister, but that he was only being accused by the police.

Inspector Maung Win said, “We have asked the court to hold him for 20 days beginning on November 2^nd. As the court has given us permission, we sent him to the center. If we obtain some evidence during these 20 days, we can charge him and if we find nothing, we will release him.”

In regard to this case, the police from Zayar Thiri Police Station are holding the boy and charged him under Article 376/302 (punishment for rape/punishment for murder) of the Penal Code on November 1^st.

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