A monk in the town of Paung Tale, located in the Bago Region, is being detained after he chopped off part of a man’s hand.
The incident took place on Monday at the monastery where the culprit, U Titha, resided.
Around 11am that day, a meeting was held at the monastery between the local villagers and officers of the township’s cooperative loan unit to discuss the villagers’ loan applications.
The victim and unit’s vice chairman, Than Soe, recounted to Mizzima: “I was talking on the phone when it [the handset] suddenly dropped from my hand. Then [another officer] U Tin Maung started yelling that the monk had chopped off my hand. I turned around and [U Titha] had a knife in his hand, and my middle finger had been chopped off.”
Than Soe lost his left middle finger and sustained injuries to his left ear, and was immediately rushed to the hospital.
Upon interrogation, U Titha stated that he committed the crime in a fit of anger because the villagers had brought visitors to the monastery without requesting permission from the monks.
A case has been opened against U Titha under Section 324 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt. If Than Soe decides to proceed with the case, U Titha will be tried as an ordinary citizen.
