The demolition of a beautiful teak wood colonial-era mansion near Kandawgyi Lake began over the weekend.
For decades the house stood on the corner of Nat Mauk and Bo Cho Roads, the balcony on its grand wooden top floor looking out towards the water.
But on Monday morning only the stone lower storey remained, fenced off and guarded by dogs presumably belonging to the new owner, purportedly tycoon Tay Za.
Dozens took to social media to bemoan the loss of the building.
“That’s really sad!” wrote Pyone Pyone Han. “I am always looking at this mansion whenever I pass through Natmauk Road.”
In an email to Coconuts Yangon, Thant Myint-U, the founder of non-profit Yangon Heritage Trust, said of the demolition: “It’s an act of vandalism.”
The house is thought to have originally been owned during British rule by an Indian merchant.
It was later passed down to a rich Muslim timber trader named Bah Oh, according to Virginia Henderson, who researched heritage buildings in Yangon for her book Yangon Echoes.
“It’s a classic grand teak mansion with well-worn wooden floors telling many tales,” she said.
Bah Oh made his fortune from teak and hardwood from Pyinima, near Naypyitaw.
He married several times, buying a house for each of his wives.
The Bo Cho Road mansion was given to the mother of the latest owner, Sheila Maung Maung, according to Henderson.
But it fell into disrepair and, abandoned, was locally believed to be haunted.
It was sold in 2008.
“Like many other old wooden houses, this beauty faced death by neglect,” said Henderson.
“Maintenance is a key to protecting the precious built heritage.”
Yangon is home to hundreds of colonial-era buildings but many have been destroyed in recent years to make way for new and more profitable developments.
“Unfortunately we’ve been unsuccessful at getting the government to agree to necessary heritage regulations or laws,” said Thant Myint-U.
“Talking it up with the government won’t make much difference at this point I suspect. But maximum media attention is a good thing, if only to help with future protection.”
