Police have arrested three culprits in relation to the murder of a police officer in Naypyidaw on New Year’s Eve.
The body of the victim, First Lieutenant Zaw Zaw, was found at the intersection of Moe Lay Street and 13th Street in Naypyidaw’s Dekkhinathiri Township around 4 am on January 1. The victim had a one-inch wide gash on his chin, and bruises on his upper lip, neck, chest, and right thigh. His hands were also tied behind his back with a pasoe.
The detained culprits are Ko Phyo, Ko Myo, and Win Ko Ko; all three were first and second cousins to the victim.
According to authorities, Zaw Zaw and his cousin Ko Phyo had drinks together on New Year’s Eve. While walking home, the two got in an argument that turned physical. In the middle of the fight, Ko Phyo’s cousins Ko Myo and Win Ko Ko arrived to the scene in their car and beat up Zaw Zaw as well. In order to ensure that Zaw Zaw wouldn’t come after them, they tied his hands with a pasoe and left him there.
“When we interrogated the culprit [Ko Phyo], he said that he didn’t think he [Zaw Zaw] was going to die. If he’d thought that that would be the case, he would’ve brought him back home. He thought that the victim was going to return home once he sobered up so he left him there,” a police officer explained to Kumudra.
Authorities have confirmed that the death was the unfortunate result of a drunken brawl, and not an anti-police hate crime.
“Ko Phyo is the main culprit. He was there at the beginning of the fight and while it was taking place. We’ll also take appropriate action against the other two culprits once we’ve finished interrogating them,” said the officer.
Police arrested Ko Phyo and Win Ko Ko on Sunday evening at a car checkpoint in Naypyidaw’s Ottarathiri Township. After discovering that Ko Myo was also involved, they went and arrested him at his house in Lewe Township.
The Dekkhinathiri Township police station has opened a case under Section 302 (“Punishment for murder”) of the Myanmar Penal Code.
