On October 26th, in Young Dein village, Khow Zar Sub-Township, Ye Township, a villager  was beaten by  the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) chairman for helping organize the All Mon Region Democracy Party’s (AMRDP) campaign in the area.  He has now been sent to the Ye Township hospital.

The VPDC chairman, Nai Ba Din, and the people’s militia beat Nai Ba Shin who was helping organize for the AMRDP in the upcoming elections.

“Nai Ba Shin, a man of 47 or 48 years, was elected to be a member of the people’s militia, but he refused. Then, when he helped organize for the 2010 election, Nai Ba Din and the people’s militia beat him until he fainted,” reported a Young Dein villager living near the people’s militia. He lost consciousness for two hours.

The VPDC chairman ordered Nai Ba Shin’s wife, Mi Win Thin, to sign a statement that he fainted on his own, without revealing the true cause of fainting.  “During his loss of consciousness, the VPDC chairman called his [Nai Ba Shin's] wife to collect him. When she arrived and saw her husband had fainted, she, too, fainted for around 15 minutes. The VPDC chairman then explained to her that her husband fainted of his own doing and forced her to sign the statement to collect him,” an observer reported.

The wife asked why she had to sign for him if he fainted on his own and the chairman threatened her and forced her to sign the statement, which she did, in order to attend to her husband’s needs.

Nai Ba Shin is still at Ye town hospital, seriously injured by the chairman and the people’s militia. “His family took him to the hospital three days after the beating. He had no broken bones, but many wounds,” reported someone close to the family.