Two police officers are facing disciplinary action over the escape of four patients from the Mrauk U hospital in Rakhine State on Jan. 23. The patients were receiving treatment for injuries they sustained during a police crackdown on Rakhine nationalist protesters on Jan. 16, which left a total of seven people dead and 12 injured.
Following the protest, eight of the injured protesters were taken to Sittwe hospital, while four stayed in Mrauk U. The patients were kept in handcuffs while they received treatment, sparking complaints from relatives and local politicians.
However, the restraints did not stop the four Mrauk U patients from escaping. In addition to penalties for the police officers who were on duty during the escape, police have also charged the fugitives under Section 6(1) of the Public Property Protection Act.
“We have to detain them, as it bears witness to the fact that the injured were present at the protest. The court will make a decision based on the extent of their offences,” Rakhine State police chief Col. Aung Myat Moe told Eleven.
The protest on Jan. 16 was sparked by the cancellation of a Rakhine festival and the arrest of two Rakhine nationalist leaders. Thousands of Rakhines demonstrated outside the Mrauk U police station and district administration office that night. Police eventually fired at the crowd, hitting protesters in the head, back, chest, and legs.
Police have been accused by relatives of the victims and local political organizations of using “excessive force,” though the police maintain that they only fired into the air and below the protesters’ knees.
