One person was killed and two others were injured when an army jeep belonging to LIB 272 ran into a team of forced labour working on the Ponnagyun-Kyauktaw rail tracks on October 4, said a labourer, who witnessed the accident.

Thein Win, a captain of the LIB 272, who was believed to be inebriated, drove his jeep into the workers on the railway tracks near Ahhpoakwa village in Kyauktaw Township, the witness said.

Saw Mya Htun (26), from Tharakthapin village died on the spot, while Naing Htun (32) and Kyaw Win (26) sustained severe injuries, the eyewitness said.

Labourers working in nearby fields rushed to the scene and sent the dead and injured to Kyauktaw general hospital, said a hospital official.

“One person was dead on arrival,” said the official, who added that police was yet to take any action against Thein Win.

The State Peace and Development Council has been developing the rail link between central Burma and Arakan State by conscripting villagers living near the tracks and prison inmates as forced labour, said a trader who works near the rail line.

The trader added that Burmese Army personnel stationed nearby often visit the site and harass local villagers.