After her parents died 10 years ago in Tachileik, Ma Honey Win Htike was adopted at the age of four by U Win Htike and Daw San San Maw, who lived in the neighboring village of Luu Kaung Kyun.
Once Ma Honey Win Htike finished elementary school, her adoptive parents pulled her out of school. From then on, she was forced to work at home.
She was also tortured. Daw San San Maw would pour hot water on the child, starve her, scratch her hip with needles, poke her vagina with the tip of a knife and hit her head until her scalp bled.
Ma Honey Win Htike repeatedly tried to escape. On September 12, she was beaten so badly that the left side of her forehead split open. After that, she ran away. Neighbors looked after the girl while the village head, U Pyone Cho, filed a case against the couple at the local police station.
“The child had both old and new injuries on her body. After she has received the proper treatment, I just want her to go to a good home. I don’t want her to return to her old family. I followed the law and opened a case because we want those who hurt the child to get the punishment they deserve,” U Pyone Cho told Eleven.
Daw Aye Nein from the General Administration Department assessed Ma Honey Win Htike’s injuries. She said: “There is a large wound on her head that is so big that hair cannot grow in that spot. There is a hot water burn behind her ear. There is also a wound on her right hand. There are injuries on both hips from where she was scratched by needles. There are wounds around her vaginal area, where she said they scraped her with knives. There are also wounds on her forehead.”
U Zaw Win, the brother of the accused Daw San San Maw, testified against his sister.
“I was their neighbor for about three months. Daw San San Maw is my sister, but I know they hit the child until she couldn’t even speak. I saw them push her into water. Her duties began as soon as it was morning, and she had to work non-stop, even harder than a prisoner. We feel bad for the child and want things to be right.”
The couple will be charged under Sections 294, 325, 326 of the penal code.
Earlier this year, the exposure of the torture and enslavement of two teenage maids at a tailor shop in Yangon went viral and gripped the nation. Since then, the government and media have been paying more attention to investigations into child abuse cases to ensure that justice is served.
