A girl was rapped

No.29 - 1/2008
30 January 2008
Human Rights

Teenager raped by junta soldiers
By: Kwarn Lake

A 16 year old teenage girl from Mong Liang village in Mong Pieng township (Eastern Shan State) was dragged into a farm and raped by a group of soldiers from Mong Pieng based Light Infantry Batallion 360, according to a local source.

On 12th of this month, about 30 soldiers from Company 2, LIB 360 led by Second Lieutenant Maung Myint came to Loi Kao Kot (Nine Bend Mountain), between Tong Tar and Mong Pieng, to destroy poppy fields. "It is just another of their (the junta) public stunts.They do that just to take pictures and show their leaders or to the world," the source said.

On the way back from Loi Kao Kot to Mong Liang village, they met Nang Kham Ai (not her real name) coming back to her house from herding the family's horses. She was threatened with gun and dragged into the farm, half a mile from the village and was raped by Second Lieutenant Maung Myint and 3 of his followers from 4:30 pm till late evening.

"The troop is heartless and very cruel. If the villagers who came back from their farms did not hear the girl's scream they might still rape until midnight. They have no sympathy at all, they should think of her as their sister or daughter," said one of the villagers who requests anonymity.

The soldiers ran away when the villagers came and they then brought her back to her parents. The parents demanded the village headman to ask for punishment of the soldiers by the army. But, the headman dared not ask because he was afraid of the soldiers. The villagers have no one to depend upon, said a villager.

Nang Kham Ai is the daughter of Loong Yee and Pa Vo who own many farms, cows, buffaloes and belongs to a well known middle class family.