Thousands of people turned out on Monday for the funeral of an impoverished day labourer who was shot and killed during a raid on his home over the weekend.
Moe Myint Aung, a 27-year-old resident of Bagan Myothit in Mandalay Region, was shot early Sunday morning by regime forces searching for weapons and ammunition.
A joint force of about 20 police and soldiers stormed his house in Bagan Myothit’s Pyu Saw Htee Yonedan ward shortly after midnight on Sunday, witnesses told Myanmar Now.
When the junta’s forces saw Moe Myint Aung close the door of his bedroom, they kicked it open and shot him, according to his wife.
“They gave the door a strong kick and it flew open. Then they shot my husband in the stomach,” she said.
“They were searching for guns. They didn’t find any, but they shot him anyway,” she continued.
The wounded man was then put in a military truck and taken away. His body was retrieved from Nyaung-U Hospital on Sunday evening, according to family members.
A funeral was held at a local cemetery at around 10am on Monday.
His brother-in-law and two brothers, who were also taken into custody after being beaten and handcuffed by the regime’s forces, were released on Sunday evening.
Moe Myint Aung was a day labourer who struggled to make a living due to the loss of his job. In recent months, he has been supporting himself and his wife, who is three months pregnant, by collecting cans and bottles to resell, according to relatives.
“It was all he could do to earn enough just to survive. He couldn’t afford to join the rallies. He had no contacts [among anti-coup protesters],” said a cousin.
“He didn’t have any weapons. The police station said the forces raided his house by mistake,” he added.
The cousin called the unprovoked shooting “unacceptable”, but said the family was in no position to take legal action against the perpetrators.
“What can we do about it? There’s no law. They just do whatever they want to do. If they want us to suffer, we have to suffer. But we feel sorry that we have to tolerate this unacceptable oppression,” he said.
The junta has not commented on the incident.
The regime has murdered 840 civilians since seizing power on February 1, according to the latest figures released by the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners on May 30.
