Maung Saungkha, who was arrested on November 5 for writing a poem about having a tattoo of the president on his penis, attended his first hearing in a Yangon court yesterday.
Saungkha, a 23-year-old poet and activist, posted the supposedly offensive verses to his Facebook page last month, causing an immediate uproar even though he didn’t specify what president he was talking about or confirm that he had such a tattoo (it was a poem, after all).
Police arrested him while he was attending another trial for student activists.
English versions of his original poem have used the word “penis,” but a more formal translation by Ko Ko Thet uses “manhood.”
On my manhood rests a tattooed
portrait of Mr. President
My beloved found that out after
we wed
She was utterly gutted,
Inconsolable.
He has become one of several people sued for criminal defamation over a Facebook update in the past month.
Ko Sai, the poet’s brother, told Coconuts Yangon that Saungkha was rounded up at the same time as other activists.
“They want family supporters of those activists to make busy,” he said.
The next hearing in Shwepyithar township is scheduled for November 27.
Photo of Maung Saungkha performing in 2014 / Aung Naing Soe / Coconuts Yangon
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