Family demands justice in Maungdaw toddler rape-homicide case

By Admin 15 Jun 2026

DMG Newsroom

15 June 2026, Maungdaw

The family of a two-year-old victim is publicly demanding total transparency from the United League of Arakan (ULA) judicial organ following the controversial release of an accessory accused of attempting to conceal the body of a toddler who was brutally raped and murdered in late March, local relatives reported Saturday.

On 16 March 2026, the victim, an infant aged just over two, was assaulted and subsequently killed in Aung Thukha Village, located in Arakan State's northern Maungdaw Township. The principal suspect was identified as Maung Pauk Sa Chay, a 17-year-old co-resident of the village.

Following the homicide, the teenager allegedly stuffed the toddler's body into a burlap sack and, assisted by his mother, Daw Hla Mya Than, attempted to transport the remains into dense brushland outside village limits.

Both suspects were initially apprehended by the Department of Law Enforcement and Public Security (DLEPS), the civil police apparatus administered by the United League of Arakan.

"High-ranking regional and township commanders visited my home personally and gave explicit assurances," a male relative stated. "They guaranteed that the son would inevitably face execution under our laws, and that they would hand down the death penalty themselves. For the mother, they guaranteed an accessory sentence ranging from 10 to 20 years in prison."

Contradicting these high-level assurances, Daw Hla Mya Than was quietly released from revolutionary custody on 17 April 2026, approximately one month after her initial arrest. Denied re-entry by furious residents of Aung Thukha Village, she subsequently took up residence in her native hamlet of Sin Paik.

The unexpected release prompted the victim's family to lodge an official protest with the Maungdaw District Court, alleging a structural failure of justice.

"When I confronted the Maungdaw administrative headquarters regarding the legal justification for her release, the district chief personally informed me that the mother was cleared of accessory charges, claiming the true accomplice remained at large," the relative added. "I rejected this explanation and formally demanded a comprehensive reinvestigation. We cannot permit a key accessory to walk free."

Despite filing the formal appeal on 18 April, family members report that regional authorities have initiated no formal review or corrective investigation over the past two months.

Although DLEPS officials insist the woman remains technically detained, the administration has refused to disclose her current location or legal status, stoking fears of an institutional cover-up.

According to court filings, critical eyewitness testimony was secured on the day of the crime when the village administrator interrogated the perpetrator's seven-year-old younger brother. The child, who had invited the victim to the suspect's home to play, detailed how the assault transpired.

"During the preliminary inquiry at the chairman's house, the little boy testified that his older brother killed my daughter and explained exactly how their mother directed the cover-up, warning him to remain silent," the victim's father stated. "The authorities are now actively suppressing the minor's testimony."

The family has formally brought charges of rape, murder, concealment of a corpse, and robbery before the Maungdaw Court against the primary suspect and his mother.

The protracted legal battle is extracting an immense socio-economic toll on the family, who are low-income day laborers. Mandatory attendance at consecutive court dates has disrupted their ability to secure daily wages, threatening long-term food security.

Furthermore, the family's inability to afford private legal counsel has forced them to rely entirely on a state-provided public defender. Relatives allege that the state attorney, working without private fees, has shown systemic negligence in court.

"Our state-assigned lawyer asks questions purely out of programmatic duty during cross-examinations," a relative explained. "There is no strategic depth, no standard legal methodology to probe discrepancies. In stark contrast, the defense counsel, hired privately by the perpetrator's family for an exorbitant sum, is aggressively exploiting these systemic weaknesses, dominant and thoroughly prepared at every hearing."

The case unfolds amid growing alarm from regional women's rights advocates, who contend that a sharp spike in statutory rape cases across Arakan State is being exacerbated by the ULA’s weak and inconsistent judiciary.

According to comprehensive documentation maintained by DMG, at least 15 verified cases of aggravated sexual assault and rape were recorded across Arakan State between June 2024 and April 2026. In four of those documented cases, the perpetrators evade arrest completely under prevailing security conditions.