Type of Incident

Fatal car accident

Date of Incident(s)

July 7th 2017

Incident Location

(Village, Township, and District)

E--- village, Thandaunggyi Township, Toungoo District

Victim Information

Name

Saw F---

Saw G---

Naw H---

Naw I----

Age

32

70

36

N/A

Sex

M

M

F

F

Ethnicity

Karen

Karen

Karen

Karen

Family   

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Occupation

Plantation

Plantation

Plantation

Plantation

Religion

Christian

Christian

Christian

Christian

Position

Villager

Villager

Villager

Villager

Village

E---

E---

E---

E---

Perpetrator Information

Name(s)              

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Aung Min Naing

Lance Corporal

Bu Yin Naung military [Tatmadaw]

Bu Yin Naung military camp, Thandaunggyi Township

Major General Soe Tint Naing

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

I received a phone call from E--- villagers and I was told to come and document this incident in E--- village.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

People who witnessed the accident first-hand and the victims themselves disclosed information about the incident to me, so the information is true.  

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

A car accident occurred on the steep crossroad between E--- village and Thandaunggyi [Town] in Thandaunggyi Township, Toungoo District on July 7th 2017.

The car (car plate – YGN7G 2807) was driving fast and was unable to stop when it reached the E--- crossroad. The car hit a 36-year-old man named Saw F--- who stood on the side of the road. He was killed by the impact. In addition, the vehicle crashed into pastor Saw J---’s car, which was parked on the side of the road. This crash also damaged a residence/shop and a rest house built by E--- villagers.

This car accident instantly killed Saw F--- and injured eight passengers who were sitting in pastor Saw J---’s car. They were about to travel to [Thandaunggyi] town. The injured victims included Naw H--- (36 years old) who sustained a fracture in the lower back,  Saw G--- (70 years old) who sustained injuries to his nose and head, Saw K--- whose head was also injured. L---, Naw M---, Naw N--- and pastor Saw J--- were also in the car during the accident.

This car accident happened because the driver, whose name has not been officially confirmed, was careless. He drove away immediately after the accident occurred.  Burma/Myanmar Township police officers came to the location where the accident took place and investigated what happened. Two cars and the injured victims were taken to the police station as evidence for this accident. However, the perpetrator has not been arrested yet.

The owner of the car [Lance Corporal Aung Win Naing] and his relatives did not show up to Saw F---’s funeral to take responsibility for the accident or to console [the victim’s family]. On July 10th 2017, Major Myo Min Than, the car owner Lance Corporal Aung Myo Naing and a group of their soldiers came [to E--- village] wearing military uniforms and equipped with arms. They met with the E--- village administrator to negotiate with the victim’s family. The victim’s family were asked to drop the case.   

However, Saw F---’s family and villagers [including the injured victims]  requested to receive at least 8,700,000 kyats [USD 6,464.6][4] as compensation for the death of the victim, the injured victims and the damage to vehicles and the shop. The car owner Lance Corporal and Major Aung Myo Min did not say exactly whether they will pay [the requested amount] or not, but they arranged to meet with the villagers again on July 20th 2017. They donated 100,000 kyats (USD 73.95)[5] to Saw F---’s funeral. However, they did not show up to the funeral on July 20th 2017, which upset Saw F---’s family and other villagers. According to the villagers, the members of Tatmadaw do not value or respect them.