Out of five people initially detained as suspects in the murder of an assistant clerk in Maungdaw Township, only a 14-year-old boy remains in junta custody, according to a statement released by the Rakhine State military council last week.
The other four were released, the December 24 statement said.
“The police examined the five suspects yesterday and we found the perpetrator amongst them,” an officer in the Maungdaw Township administration office told Myanmar Now, referring to Nobi Hussein.
The victim, 25-year-old San Htay Naing, who worked in the general administration department (GAD) office for Myinlut town, was found dead at a port near the border police outpost at 7am on December 23, according to a local. He leaves behind a wife and daughter.
“We found drops of blood nearby as well as a brand new knife and his motorcycle. We didn’t find his mobile phone. There was also a debt list inside his front pocket. The police took it,” the local said.
Cpt Myint Kyaw Oo, of the junta police station in Maungdaw town, told Rakhine State-based news outlet Development Media Group (DMG) that Nobi Hussein is one of four suspects in the murder, but that the other three men, including a man reportedly named Isamile, were on the run. The police officer alleged that Nobi Hussein had been asked by the man to meet a GAD staff member, who was then killed over an unpaid debt.
According to DMG, San Htay Naing was killed on December 22 after his throat was slit.
Former Maungdaw parliamentarian Maung Ohn also told Myanmar Now that the case could be related to a financial dispute.
“I heard that someone who owed him money told him to come and meet, and that he was going to give him the money back. When he arrived he was killed instead,” Maung Ohn said, adding, “They still haven’t found the person who had asked to meet him to repay the debt.”
Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify the former parliamentarian’s claim.
