Other MoA event in Nyaungdon area, Myanmar on Fri 16th October 2026

At Kazan Inspection Checkpoint in Nyaungdon Township, trader U Myo Myint was stabbed to death by local police officer Mya Phone Aung of Salu Maltauk Police Station and his group, money was stolen and the body was concealed; Station Commander Deputy Police Inspector Htein Lin covered up the case by changing it from a murder to a drowning death and cremated the body without informing the family

Yangon, October 18

Friends of trader U Myo Myint told the Yangon Khit Thit News Agency that near the Kazan Inspection Checkpoint, under the jurisdiction of Salu Maltauk Police Station in Nyaungdon Township, Ayeyarwady Region, local police officer Mya Phone Aung and his group from Salu Maltauk Police Station beat and stabbed trader U Myo Myint, a resident of Hlaing Tharyar Township, to death, took approximately 2.1 million kyat in cash, opened a case as an ordinary drowning death, and cremated the body.

At around 9:30 p.m. on 16 October, U Myo Myint from Hlaing Tharyar Township was waiting for a vehicle near the Kazan Inspection Checkpoint in order to collect payment for goods from Nyaungdon Town. At that time, local police officer Mya Phone Aung from Salu Maltauk Police Station and another police officer stopped and questioned him. During the inspection, they discovered that U Myo Myint was carrying approximately 2.1 million kyat in cash, after which officer Mya Phone Aung reportedly said he was suspicious and ordered him to come to the police station.

Although trader U Myo Myint explained that the 2.1 million kyat was payment for goods that he had come to collect and that he was waiting for a vehicle, the officers allegedly insisted that he accompany them to the police station and attempted to arrest and handcuff him. An argument followed, during which officer Mya Phone Aung punched U Myo Myint in the face, while the accompanying officer kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall into the water, according to an eyewitness.

After U Myo Myint fell into the water, officer Mya Phone Aung and the accompanying officer followed him into the water and attempted to handcuff him. When they were unable to handcuff him, officer Mya Phone Aung allegedly stabbed him in the back with a knife and then stabbed him again in the face.

Although trader U Myo Myint shouted for help while in the water, it was nighttime and nearby people did not dare intervene because it was the local police officer and his group who were carrying out the assault. It is reported that U Myo Myint then died in the water from the injuries he sustained.

“He had come to collect payment for goods. He had about 2.1 million kyat in his bag. After seeing the money, they told him to come to the police station. It is understood that when he did not want to go, an argument occurred, they beat him, and he fell into the water. They even went into the water and stabbed him with a knife,” one source said.

After U Myo Myint died, it is reported that officer Mya Phone Aung and his group took the approximately 2.1 million kyat from his shoulder bag and returned to Salu Maltauk Police Station.

The following morning, 17 October, Station Commander Deputy Police Inspector Htein Lin, officer Mya Phone Aung, and approximately five police personnel arrived at the scene. It is reported that they did not record the death as a stabbing murder but instead opened a case treating it as a drowning incident and did not inform the deceased's family.

It is further reported that Station Commander Deputy Police Inspector Htein Lin registered the death as a drowning rather than a murder and had the body cremated without notifying the family.

“It is understood that the family was not informed and the body was not handed over to them. We understand that the case was changed to a drowning death. It is also understood that the body was cremated without the family's knowledge. We have witnesses and information regarding this matter,” said a friend of U Myo Myint.

In addition, it is reported that the approximately 2.1 million kyat taken from U Myo Myint was divided between Station Commander Deputy Police Inspector Htein Lin and officer Mya Phone Aung, and that the entire Salu Maltauk Police Station, including the station commander, participated in covering up the incident.

It is currently reported that there is evidence relating to the beating of U Myo Myint, the stabbing, the taking of money, and the cremation of the body without informing the family.

According to local residents, officer Mya Phone Aung was known for stopping travellers and drivers at the Kazan Inspection Checkpoint at night and demanding money from them.

Local residents also stated that last year, at the Kazan Inspection Checkpoint, officer Mya Phone Aung and his group beat a taxi driver returning after taking a patient to town, claiming that it was past 10 p.m., and demanded 800,000 kyat from him.

It is reported that following that incident, the township police chief transferred Mya Phone Aung to another police station and kept him at Chaung Gyi Police Station for about one month, but later returned him to Salu Maltauk Police Station.

“Officer Mya Phone Aung drank almost every night at the Kazan checkpoint, stopped drivers, and demanded money. Previously, there was also a problem when he demanded 800,000 kyat from someone. After that he was temporarily sent to Chaung Gyi Police Station and later brought back,” a local resident said.

It is further reported that officer Mya Phone Aung was responsible for collecting money to pass on daily to senior officers, reportedly paying 50,000 kyat per day to the township police chief and 30,000 kyat per day to the station commander as tribute payments.