Rakhapura News
Akyab, 21.8.2003

On June 20, the Burmese authority discovered twenty Rakhine children locked inside a house owned by a Bengali Muslim (Rohingya) in Narzi quarter in Sittwe (Akyab), capital of Rakhine (Arakan) state of western Burma, our correspondent from Sittwe reported.

The report said that the Burmese Military Intelligence (MI) personals searched a Bengali Muslim’s house in Nazi quarter according to the information received from some kids who were able to run away while they were arrested and locked inside that house. However the MI took no action against the house owner and no further investigation was done so far after having bribe of Ks. 3,000,000 (Kyats 300 Laks) from the house owner.

A trader from Sittwe told our correspondent that there are many varieties of sharks sheltering in the Rakhine off shore and Bay of Bengal and the sharks are getting high prices in the sea-food market. He continued that as human flesh is much appetizing food for the sharks, these children found arrested by a Muslim fisher man were believed to be used for baits in shark fishing. The victim children might be captured from the Rakhine families who came to Sittwe from the outskirt of the city for shopping. And there was also a rumour spreading all over Rakhine state that some children went missing from Ohntabin quarter of Sittwe and Kyauk Pyu town. The families of the victim children were threatened by the local MI not to leak out the news and not to file case with the police for their missing children” the traders added.

It is also learnt that a Burmese navy personals found human flesh such as legs and hands of kids in a Bengali Muslim fishing boat which returned from fishing at Rakhine off shore when the navy personal stopped the boat for regular toll collection near the Sittwe market hobour in round about mid April this year. That news was quickly spreading throughout Sittwe and the authority began investigation that ends the finding of twenty children arrested by a Bengali Muslim (Rohingya) at Nazi quarter on June 20.

The news of the arrest of Rakhine children by the Bengali Muslim was spreading over in Rakhine state and even though the criminal was caught red handed, the MI authority did not take action against the culprit and the police was compelled to cease the case with the order of MI, our correspondent reported.