MYANMAR: MANDALAY COURT SENTENCES MAN TO DIE FOR CHILD RAPE

March 23, 2018:

A Mandalay court sentenced to death a man for raping a two-and-a-half-year-old girl in Madaya township last month.
Pyin Oo Lwin district court handed down the sentence against the accused Phyo Htet Aung, 25, who was found guilty of the crime.
Phyo Htet Aung, who was arrested on the same day he committed the crime in Mway Kutoe Seik Village, was sentence to death by hanging.
In the Mandalay case, the victim was left with her grandparents when the parents went to the forest to gather firewood.
When they returned the child was nowhere to be found, leading to a frantic search along with their neighbours.
The victim was found barely conscious in a banana plantation and died on the way to the hospital.
Villagers immediately took into custody Phyo Htet Aung, who was the last person seen with the victim.
In the course of the court hearings on the case, which started on March 12, over 20 witnesses were questioned before the verdict was handed down on March 23.
U Wai Phyo Maung Maung, lawyer for the victim, hailed the court decision.
“Today, it shows a model court decision for child rapes,” he said. “The court ruled that the rapist who committed a crime against a two-and-a-half-year-old girl must be hanged till dead.”
However, a court spokesman said the sentence can be appealed to a higher court within seven days.