Police have arrested a married couple suspected of murdering Iron Rose editor and publisher Wai Yan Hein. It is believed that the husband, Aung Ko Ko, killed Wai Yan Hein after he discovered his wife Al Ni was having an affair with the editor.
The body of Wai Yan Hein, 27, was discovered in his Pazundaung Township office on April 16 with 15 stab wounds in torso.
On Friday, police said Aung Ko Ko, an officer for a Singapore-based shipping company, started to become aware of his wife’s alleged affair in October when a car sped away from his home in Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township as soon as he arrived. He was later told by a friend that his wife was having an affair with the Iron Rose editor.
Aung Ko Ko allegedly locked Al Ni and their son inside their home on April 11. Al Ni called Wai Yan Hein for help, and the editor came and released the woman and child from the home and brought them to a hotel in Lanmadaw Township.
On April 14, Aung Ko Ko reportedly called Wai Yan Hein before going to his office, after which he allegedly killed the editor and took his iPhone.
Police say Aung Ko Ko then picked up his wife and son from the hotel and fled to Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Region, where his parents live, and discarded the iPhone along the way.
Before the love triangle came to light, several rights groups connected Wai Yan Hein’s murder to his work as a journalist. He had recently reported on the business dealings of Myanmar’s ruling generals and referred to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi as a “drone president.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists as well as Reporters Without Borders called for swift investigations of the editor’s death while alluding to Myanmar’s recent record of not solving cases in which journalists have been killed.
Yangon police have formed a special team to investigate the murder of Wai Yan Hein, according to RFA.
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