Three executed for murder in MNDAA-controlled Mongko

The Myanmar National Democratic Army (MNDAA) executed three men in the northern Shan State town of Mongko (Monekoe) on Tuesday, according to residents. The men and two other prisoners were paraded through the town before the executions were carried out later the same day, witnesses said. “They brought them to the sports ground and put them on display. They said three had been sentenced to death for murder, and the other two were given prison sentences,” said one resident who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity. In a statement, the ethnic Kokang armed group said that two men in their 40s and another aged 28 were “sentenced to death under Article 175 and 179 of the Special Region Criminal Procedure Code for committing murder, and all their possessions were confiscated.” After the sentences were announced, the three men were taken to the execution site and shot, the Mongko resident said. One of the other convicts, identified as a minor, was handed a 14-year sentence for murder, while a 45-year-old man was given 10 years for raping a minor, according to the MNDAA statement. According to another Mongko resident, further details about the condemned men were also read out as their sentences were announced. “One of the men who were sentenced to death was said to be from Rakhine State. He came here looking for work. He killed a Mongko homeowner and also tried to kill a young girl working at the house,” the resident said. The MNDAA has not released any information about how the accused were found guilty, or whether they were given a change to defend themselves in a court of law. Mongko, located on Myanmar’s border with China, has been under MNDAA control since November 2023, when it was captured as part of Operation 1027, a major anti-junta offensive launched the previous month. The group went on to seize control of a number of other towns in northern Shan State, including the region’s largest city, Lashio. It withdrew from Lashio in April of this year under a Chinese-brokered deal with the regime. This is the fifth time in the past two years that the MNDAA has imposed the death penalty on prisoners in its custody. At the end of September this year, two out of seven men accused of committing murder and kidnapping for ransom in Hsenwi and Lashio townships were sentenced to death, and the remaining five were given long prison sentences. In April, before handing Lashio over to the junta, its forces publicly executed five men who committed murder, robbery, and kidnapping for ransom in the city. Six out of 14 people accused of committing crimes including murder in MNDAA-controlled Laukkai were also executed in December of last year. A 36-year-old MNDAA district-level officer and two soldiers were also publicly executed on April 24, 2024, for allegedly committing murder and kidnapping for ransom in Laukkai. Seven members of the group, including two deputy battalion commanders, were given lengthy prison sentences.

Three executed for murder in MNDAA-controlled Mongko

The ethnic Kokang armed group also handed lengthy sentences to two other prisoners who were paraded in the town of Tuesday

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