Type of Incident

Sexual violence against a child

Date of Incident(s)

June 10th 2020

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

A--- village, A--- village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District

Victim Information

Name

Naw[4] B--- [Ma B---]

Age

13

Sex

Female

Ethnicity

Karen

Family   

Single

Religion

Buddhist

Position

Thilashin

Village

C--- village, Htee Th'Bluh Hta village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)              

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Meh Gyi

Soldier

BGF Battalion #1013

K'Ter Tee village

Battalion Commander Saw[5] La Kyaing

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

A police officer informed me about this case on June 12th 2020 when I went to Wah Tho Khoh village, Dwe Lo Township to document another incident. I contacted the A--- village tract administrator in the evening and he told me that this incident happened on June 10th 2020 at 6 pm.

On June 13th 2020, I met with a Karen National Liberation Army [KNLA][6] Commander from Battalion #102, Company #3. He showed me a telegram that confirmed what the village tract administrator had told me. However, some elements were still missing so I contacted a Thu Hkoh Yaw [Company Sergeant Major] from Company #3. I also went to the monastery and met with the abbot.

[KHRG also interviewed the mother of the survivor]

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The abbot was at the monastery at the time of the incident.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

This child rape case happened at 6 pm on June 10th 2020 at the E--- Monastery in A--- village, A--- village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District. The survivor is a 13-year-old thilashin named Naw B--- from C--- village, Htee Th'Bluh Hta village tract, Dwe Lo Township.

The perpetrator is Meh Gyi, a 23-year-old BGF soldier from A--- village. He is based in a camp beside the Baw Kyoh Hta bridge, and his commanding officer is Platoon Commander Bo Meh See. Meh Gyi is part of BGF Battalion #1013, Company #1. BGF Battalion #1013 is based in K’Ter Tee village and commanded by Battalion Commander La Kyaing and his deputy, Kyaw Win. The Company #1 Commander is Bo Bah Yoh.

U[7] Pa Nya[8] D---, the monastery’s abbot, said that, on the day of the incident, Naw B--- and an older thilashin had gone to the house of one of their Da Ka [followers] to drink tea, after which they came back to the monastery. At 6 pm, while they were both at the Ma Da [a place to collect donations, usually located beside a road], the abbot asked the two thilashins to go to the temple and play [an audio-cassette or a CD containing] Ta Ya [Buddhist preachings]. The older thilashin stayed at the Ma Da and Naw B--- went to the temple.

Meh Gyi called Naw B--- while she was in the temple. She replied to him that it was dark, and that the abbot did not allow them to go out [after dark]. Then, Meh Gyi entered the temple, covered her mouth with his hand and took her behind the temple [to rape her]. The older thilashin saw Meh Gyi take Naw B---, but she did not know why.

She reported it to the abbot [who initially thought she was being kidnapped]. He asked two local villagers who live near the Ma Da to find Naw B---. They started searching the monastery and calling out her name, prompting Meh Gyi to run away. By the time they found her, Meh Gyi had already raped Naw B---, leaving her injured. Meh Gyi was reportedly on drugs at the time of the incident. Some of the local villagers noticed that drugs [both their use and sale] were common among BGF soldiers.

Before finding the victim, the abbot had initially sent a third villager, Saw H---, to the BGF post near the Baw Kyoh Hta bridge to ask the soldiers about the whereabouts of Meh Gyi. They could not find him. [When he heard about the rape case,] Platoon Commander Bo Meh See gave 50,000 kyats [USD 36.80][9] to Saw H--- to send Naw B--- to the one hundred beds hospital in Hpapun town.

No compensation was provided to cover the victim’s medical fees and food costs, [however these costs] were paid for by the perpetrator’s mother. The survivor was admitted to the Hpapun hospital on June 10th. She was discharged on June 16th 2020, after which she came back to the monastery. She now has to go back to the hospital once a week to undergo a medical check-up.

Naw B---'s mother said: "I am afraid to talk about [what happened to] my daughter. Her genitalia was brutally hurt. If she hadn’t been badly injured, there would have been no reason to admit her to the hospital." She will take her daughter back to her village after this case is fully resolved.

On the morning of June 11th, Meh Gyi was arrested by other [BGF] soldiers along the Noh Kheh Hta road and subsequently handed over to the Myanmar Police Force [MPF]. He is now being held in custody at the Hpapun central police station.

Update from the KHRG field researcher [July 31st 2020]: The MPF came to the village two times to investigate the crime scene and hear witnesses. But U F---, a senior monk from the monastery involved in the proceedings, said that the investigation is moving slowly. He had to go to the police station five times with the victim’s mother already, but they were told to bring more witnesses.

However, the monk cannot afford to cover all the transportation costs for himself, the victim’s mother and the other witnesses anymore. Since the MPF is not taking any further action or referring this case to a court, both the monk and the victim’s mother decided to stop going to the police station. The monk would like this case to be referred to the BGF or the Karen National Union,[10] as he believes that they would take swifter action against the perpetrator.

Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided.

The mother of the victim allowed KHRG to use this information.