Relatives of a 24-year-old man who was detained in Chin State’s Hakha Township nearly a month ago say they have been directed by the authorities to end their search for him.
The family of Rual Cung, who was one of five young men taken into custody by regime forces in the village of Hniarlawnthar on October 13, said they received a phone call on Monday informing them that he was dead.
The caller, who did not identify himself, also instructed the family to stop looking for him, a source close to the family told Myanmar Now.
It was the first news the family had received about Rual Cung since military officials from Infantry Battalion 266, stationed in Hakha, told them he wasn’t being held there, the source said, adding that the family was still in some doubt about whether Rual Cung was, in fact, dead.
“We don’t know who called the family. I think it was just one of their soldiers. We don’t know anything for sure,” said the source, who asked not to be named.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Rual Cung’s fate, the family held a funeral for him on Monday, the Chin Journal, a local news outlet, reported on its Facebook page.
According to the anti-regime Chinland Defence Force (CDF), at least three people are known to have died in regime custody in Hakha since May.
On May 9, junta forces detained two Hakha residents, Tlet Ling, 57, and Kham Bwai, 27, who were later reported dead. According to the official account, Tlet Ling succumbed to Covid-19, while Kham Bwai died of a lung disease.
However, a former army sergeant who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement in October disputed the regime’s explanation for the two men’s deaths.
“They died while being beaten during their interrogations. Glucose solutions were injected into their veins and their bodies were sent directly to Kalay, where autopsies were performed and they were later cremated,” said Sgt Hin Lian Piang, who was a personal assistant to the deputy commander of the Northwestern Regional Command before his defection.
“The military forced the doctors to forge an autopsy report,” he added in testimony recorded on video.
A spokesperson for the CDF who identified himself only as John called the killings “clear violations of the Geneva Convention and military laws” and said that the regime has also destroyed religious buildings and inflicted heavy civilian casualties in its efforts to crush local resistance to its rule.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a total of 1,244 civilians have been killed by the regime since it seized power on February 1, including 40 who have died while under interrogation.
