In March of this year, some two months after Burmese soldiers allegedly crossed into China from Mu Bum base and killed Lahpai Zau Lawn, an unarmed Chinese citizen and ethnic Kachin (Jingpo), Chinese authorities took the unprecedented step of publicly calling on Burma to punish those responsible for the crime.
On March 13, China's state-owned media quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin issuing Beijing’s harshest criticism of Burma in years.
"The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations with the Myanmar side asking it to quickly find out the truth, punish the murderers, and compensate the bereaved families," said Liu during a regular ministry press briefing.
"The Myanmar side said it paid attention to the representations and is stepping up investigations,” the government spokesman added.
Liu's damming indictment of the Burmese army was later reported by the AFP news service, which also cited the Kachin News Group's previous coverage of the story. Burma's embassy in Beijing refused to respond to AFP's request for comment.
According to Lahpai Zau Lawn's family, the 53-year old farmer was abducted by Burmese troops on the evening of Thursday January 12 near his village, Loi Lung Bum in southern Yunnan.
An examination of Lahpai Zau Lawn's body, found on Chinese soil, indicated that he was shot at close range in the abdomen and twice in head, his relatives said. A photo of Lahpai Zau Lawn's corpse provided by his family supports their conclusion that he was struck in the face with the butt of a gun before being killed. Relatives say he did not cross into Burma that day, and was instead captured in China.
Zau Lawn's body was found a short distance away from where he appears to have been killed. In an apparent message to Zau Lawn’s fellow villagers, Burmese soldiers planted two mines, one at the site where bloodstains were discovered and the other where Zau Lawn's body was found, according to a source familiar with the Chinese investigation.
