Interview
Border News Agency
Rathedaung, September 8

A girl in Yay Thit Kay Village, Rathedaung Township, became pregnant and gave birth to a child. The Arakan People’s Revolutionary Government court sentenced an elderly man from the neighborhood to prison after accusing him of fathering the child. However, the family of the convicted man says he was falsely accused, and his wife is calling for a DNA test to determine the biological father of the child and establish the truth.

“My name is Ma Yin Nu. I live in Yay Thit Kay Village, Rathedaung Township. I am the wife of U Kyaw Thu, who is currently in prison. I am making this statement through this video on behalf of my husband, who is in prison.”

“On Friday, November 29, 2024, four members of our family stayed in a hut at Kha Naung Gyi Field because we were harvesting our paddy.”

“At that time, Maung Thar Cho, Khaing San Win, and her grandmother Ma Thein Nu remained at home. We continued harvesting the paddy and threshing it until the end of December 2024.”

“On January 7, 2025, we winnowed the paddy, and on January 13, we returned home. When we arrived home, the girl, Khaing San Win, had gone to stay at the house of her grandmother, Ma Thein Hla, near the creek.”

“Maung Chay, also known as Than Naing Soe, who had been expelled from the village of Alay Ywar, was also staying at that house. When we arrived home, Khaing San Win was still at her grandmother Ma Thein Hla’s house.”

“Her grandfather, Maung Thar Cho, had not yet returned home. On Wednesday, January 22, I saw with my own eyes that he was brought home because he was ill. Two or three days later, Khaing San Win began vomiting and said that she felt dizzy. When Khin San Nwe, the daughter-in-law of Maung Thar Cho’s family, and a doctor were called to examine her, they said that she had low blood pressure.”

“We thought it was simply low blood pressure and assumed that her family would buy medicine for her, so we did not pay much attention to it. On Monday, January 27, she vomited again and complained of dizziness. Daw Ma Thar Nu told my husband and me about it.”

“She said, ‘This girl says she has a fever, is vomiting, and feels dizzy. You two should go and check on her, even if only for a little while.’ So my husband and I went to see her at around 10 p.m. When we went there, she did not have a fever and did not appear to be ill. We did not know which doctor to call or whether she had eaten something that had caused her stomach to feel full and made her vomit, so we left.”

“Only three days later, because we became suspicious, we checked her with a pregnancy test. We then learned that Khaing San Win was pregnant. When everyone questioned her, they asked, ‘Who came to your house?’ She said that her grandfather and grandmother had come.”

“When they asked who the father was, she did not want to say. Khaing San Win herself said that Ma Thein Hla had instructed her to say that my husband was the father. On February 1, we went to report the matter to the chairwoman of the women’s affairs organization. We asked them to arrest this elderly man as the father of the child. After that, the chairwoman pressured my husband to sign a statement acknowledging that he was the child’s father.”

“My husband refused. He said, ‘I am not the father, and I cannot accept responsibility. I have lived with my dignity and honor. I did not do anything immoral to her. If you do not believe me, conduct a DNA test. If the test proves that I am the father, you can kill me right here. I am willing to accept whatever punishment is imposed on me.”

“The chairwoman said that a child cannot have no father and that they must find the child’s father. In the following days, they continued asking him to sign. My husband said, ‘I cannot sign it. I did not do anything to your granddaughter. Your granddaughter is my granddaughter, and my granddaughter is your granddaughter.”

“I also intervened and said, ‘Maung Thar Cho, you have lived for more than 70 years. In all the years you have lived in Yay Thit Kay, have you ever heard of me doing something like this?’ I told them that I knew my husband was not the father.”

“But they said, ‘What would happen if you just signed one document?’ We replied, ‘Why should we sign something when it is not true? Why should we sign a statement for you?”

“At that point, they threatened to charge him with rape, saying that even if the girl was actually 18 years old, they could falsely claim that she was 16 and accuse him of raping a person with a mental disability.”

“They also told us, ‘Do you know that if he is charged with rape, he could receive a 20-year prison sentence?’ They said that he was already old and would probably die within three years. ‘If you sign, you can die at home. If you refuse to sign, you will receive a 20-year prison sentence for rape,’ they told us.”

“The chairperson and the women’s affairs organization worked together to falsely accuse my husband, resulting in his imprisonment. Because of this false accusation, he was sentenced to five years in prison on July 24, 2026.”

“I was dissatisfied with these false accusations and statements, so I submitted a complaint to the central authorities. Khaing San Win gave birth to a child on September 25, 2025. We requested that the child and my husband undergo DNA testing from our side. However, the court rejected our request.”

“They also rejected our request to conduct an on-site investigation of the hut where we stayed at Kha Naung Gyi Field. We still did not get the truth. Because we wanted to know the truth, we appealed to the central authorities and submitted a petition.”

“The senior authorities also rejected our request for a DNA test so that the truth could be established. They also rejected the request for an on-site investigation. We still have not received the truth. I ask the senior authorities to help us uncover the truth.”

“I sincerely appeal to the senior authorities to help us. Only with their assistance can the truth be established. The whole village says that the child Khaing San Win recently gave birth to looks exactly like Maung Chay, also known as Than Naing Soe.”

“There was also testimony from witnesses who said that U Kyaw Hla, Maung Chay, also known as Than Naing Soe, and Khaing San Win were seen sitting together and looking at a phone, with their arms and legs touching, at the house of U Kyaw Hla, which is directly opposite the house of Ma Thein Hla.”

“However, because we have not been able to obtain the truth, I appeal to the senior authorities to help uncover the truth.”