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Print:This Incident Report describes the arbitrary arrest, torture, and extrajudicial killing of five Karen National Union (KNU) police officers by KNU Battalion #16’s Battalion Deputy Commander, 2nd Lieutenant Saw Poe Say. When asked by the family members of the deceased why he did it, he claimed that the five were mentally ill. The incident took place in Hnit Ein village, Win Yay Township, Dooplaya District on October 18th 2014. After the incident took place, the victims’ families reported the case to the KNU township leaders, KNU district leaders and KNU headquarters to investigate the killings. The KNU formed a committee to inquire into the case and later arrested Battalion Deputy Commander, 2nd Lieutenant Saw Poe Say and charged him in the KNU district court in Dooplaya District. He was sentenced to death, scheduled for the first week of August 2015. The sentence was carried out and Saw Poe Say was executed on August 8th 2015. For more information on this case see Karen Information Centre (Burmese version only).
Incident Report | Win Yay Township, Dooplaya District (October 2014)
The following Incident Report was written by a community member in Dooplaya District who has been trained by KHRG to monitor local human rights conditions. It is presented below translated exactly as originally written, save for minor edits for clarity and security.[1] This report was received in February 2015 along with other information from Dooplaya District, including one situation update, 382 photographs and six video clips.[2]
Part 1 – Incident Details
|
Type of Incident |
Killing case |
|
Date of Incident(s) |
October 18th 2014 |
|
Incident Location (Village, Township and District) |
Hnit Ein village, Win Yay Township, Dooplaya District |
|
Victim Information |
|||||
|
Name |
Ko Thein Oo |
Maung Win Kyaing |
Kyaw Chit |
Bway Wah |
Ta Chay |
|
Age |
45 |
--- |
31 |
--- |
28 |
|
Sex |
Male |
Male |
Male |
Male |
Male |
|
Nationality |
Karen |
Karen |
Karen |
Karen |
Karen |
|
Family |
Married |
Married |
Married |
Married |
Married |
|
Occupation |
KNU Police Officer |
KNU Police Officer |
KNU Police Officer |
KNU Police Officer |
KNU Police Officer |
|
Religion |
Buddhist |
Buddhist |
Buddhist |
Buddhist |
Buddhist |
|
Position |
KNU Police |
KNU Police |
KNU Police |
KNU Police |
KNU Police |
|
Village |
Htwee Maw Htoh |
Mon Lon Taung |
Ma U |
Hpaw Htee |
Thit Ka Tet |
|
Perpetrator Information |
||||
|
Name(s) |
Rank |
Unit |
Base |
Commander’s Name |
|
Saw Poe Say |
2nd Lieutenant Battalion [Deputy Commander] |
[KNU] Battalion [#16] |
Hnit Ein village, Win Yay Township [originally from] Kyainseikgyi Township |
Lit. Colonel Man Tin Hlaing |
Part 2 - Information Quality
|
1. Explain in detail how you collected this information. |
|
I went to Htwee Maw Htoh [village] to collect the information. Then I met with Thein Oo’s parents, children, wife and siblings. |
|
2. Explain how the source verified this information. |
|
The information is true because I collected some of the information from the wife of Ta Chay, who was killed, and met with Thein Oo’s family. Ta Chay’s family said, “Can you write it down for us? We are going to explain it to you.” I also brought the video of his funeral [to submit to KHRG]. |
Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident
|
Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. For each incident, be sure to include 1) when the incident happened, 2) where it happened, 3) what happened, 4) how it happened, 5) who was involved, and 6) why it happened. Also describe any villager response(s) to the incident, the aftermath and the current living situation of the victims. Please use the space prepared below, and create an attachment if needed. |
|
The incident happened in Hnit Ein village, Win Yay Township, Dooplaya District. It is a killing case. Although I did not see the case with my own eyes, I have talked to their [the deceased’s] neighbours and parents. On October 18th 2014, the parents were informed by Poe Thauk Kya [a villager] that they [the deceased] had [committed] suicide by taking medicine. When the parents went to ask [KNU] Battalion Deputy Commander, 2nd Lieutenant [Saw Poe Say], he said that they were killed. [The parents] asked him, “Why?” He then replied that they were mentally ill. Saw Poe Say was the one who killed them. He is a trusted [confidante] of [KNU] Battalion #16 Commander [Lieutenant Colonel Man Tin Hlaing] and has [already] graduated from lieutenant military training. The people who were killed by Saw Poe Say were educated and were [high] level people [in the KNU police force]. Saw Poe Say was born and grew up in Kyainseikgyi Township. It is said that before the [killing] incident, the Battalion #16 [Battalion Deputy] Commander, [2nd Lieutenant Saw Poe Say] arrested the [five KNU] police [officers] in Lwut Shan village and took all of their guns. The commander then said, “You are guilty,” before bringing them to Hnit Ein village and tying them up with ropes. They were then tortured. The victims are Karen and they are Karen [KNU] Police. They are married. I do not know why they were killed as I have not had a chance to go to Hnit Ein village. I also [am concerned for my security and unwilling] to go.[3] I cannot write much more detail than this. I can only write this much. The villagers want the perpetrator to explain this case to the public. We have not reported [this incident] to the KNLA [Karen National Liberation Army]. We [have] only reported it to the human rights organisation [KHRG]. |
Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details
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Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided. |
|
Permission has been given to use the information. They want the leaders [KHRG] to explain the case accurately on the internet. |
Footnotes:
[1] KHRG trains community members in southeast Burma/Myanmar to document individual incidents of abuse using a standardised reporting format; conduct interviews with other villagers; and write general updates on the situation in areas with which they are familiar. When writing incident reports, community members are encouraged to document incidents of abuse that they consider to be important, by verifying information from multiple sources, assessing for potential biases and comparing to local trends.
[2] In order to increase the transparency of KHRG methodology and more directly communicate the experiences and perspectives of villagers in southeast Burma/Myanmar, KHRG aims to make all field information received available on the KHRG website once it has been processed and translated, subject only to security considerations. For additional reports categorised by Type, Issue, Location and Year, please see the Related Readings component following each report on KHRG’s website.
[3] During a follow-up in May 2015, this researcher explained that upon returning to the area soon after the initial incident, he was met with suspicion from the KNU township administrator. Consequently, the researcher has been reluctant to visit the area and continue gathering information on the case. KHRG has therefore been unable to receive field updates regarding developments in this case since February 2015.
