According to the latest statistics, there are now approximately fifteen murders per month, up from only ten per month back in July.

“There was an increase in many other crimes besides murder as well,” Hla Thein commented. “There has been much unrest recently.”

He believes that this upsurge in corruption is due to a lack of rule of law.

Rakhine State MP U Aung Myat Kyaw confirmed these reports of an increase in violence and consented with Hla Thein’s diagnosis of the issue, stating, “We must apply rule of law.”

Hla Thein observed that crimes committed between the Rakhine and Bengali peoples and within the ethnic groups them selves also rose steeply, although the latter instances were rarely reported to the media.

Distrust between the Rakhine and Bengali groups arosewhen they became embroiled in sectarian conflicts in June 2011.

The Rakhine State Assembly currently has no plan to discuss the increased crime rate, according to Aung Myat Kyaw. He alsonoted that the Assembly does not have the power to make decisions on affairs rooted in sectarian violence.