Hearing postponed again due to plaintiff absence in Kyaukphyu youths’ incitement trial

By DMG 22 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
22 October 2022, Kyaukphyu

The plaintiff in the case of two youths who have been detained in Kyaukphyu Prison and face trial on incitement charges could not attend a court hearing on Friday due to security issues, with the hearing postponed for the eight time, according to a lawyer involved.

The accused have been identified as Ko Sai Wunna Kyaw and Maung Tun Tun Zaw, a university student. They were arrested on June 24 on suspicion of having links with the Arakan Army (AA) and were subsequently charged with incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code.

The accused and plaintiff were scheduled to appear before the Kyaukphyu Township Court at a hearing on Friday, but proceedings were put off until the next court hearing on October 28 after the plaintiff failed to appear, lawyer Daw Thandar said.

“The plaintiff did not appear in court due to security reasons, so the judge could not hear the case. The next hearing has been rescheduled for October 28 and prosecution witnesses have been summoned for the hearing,” the lawyer added.

Win Zaw Tun, chief of the Sanae town police station in Kyaukphyu Township, filed a lawsuit against the two youths. The brother of Ko Sai Wunna Kyaw said the defendants have grievances because Friday’s no-show by the plaintiff was his fourth.

“The plaintiff was absent from Friday’s court hearing due to security reasons. We want to urge the concerned officials to speed up the legal proceedings because we have to spend a lot of money and time to attend a court hearing,” he added.

Twenty-year-old Maung Tun Tun Zaw was planning to attend university this academic year. According to a family member who maintains that Maung Tun Tun Zaw is innocent, the student’s future is at stake as the trial threatens to derail his education plans.

Meanwhile Dr. Kyaw Thura Tun, a dentist in Arakan State’s Taungup who was detained and charged by the military under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, appeared before court on October 21, but the plaintiff in that case also failed to attend the hearing.