A Chinese hospital has demanded Kyat 200,000 to release the body of a Burmese child, which was discovered near a Sino-Burmese border town. The Chinese hospital has claimed that it would only return the body to the child’s family, provided the family paid Kyat 200,000.

The child aged eight, with his 8-month old brother, was lost in Jail Gao town, opposite to Burma's Muse Township. The body of the child was discovered on March 30, at the base of old Shweli-Jail Gao Bridge, but his parents could not bring the body back and therefore could not cremate it.

The body has been kept in Shweli Hospital. The parents of the child could not pay 1782 Yuen (over 2,70,000 Kyat) demanded by the Chinese hospital. Therefore, his parents could not claim the body from the hospital, a relative of the child’s parents said.

"They cannot afford to pay over 1,000 Yuen for bringing back the body. They are very poor and collect plastics and tins for daily survival. Therefore, they have a problem, because the hospital has demanded money. Currently, they are asking for help from other people living in this area," he said.

U Win Oo, the child's father, is a former municipal man in Muse. Even though the Muse municipal department has said that the department will help towards cremation, but the department cannot pay any money for bringing the body back from the Chinese hospital. Therefore, the parents have a problem because the Muse police department only wrote a recommendation letter and did not provide any help, a local from Muse said.

"The police departments of both countries can do it through negotiation and cooperation. Currently, the Chinese police have sent the body to the hospital. The Chinese hospital asked for money for keeping the body. The Muse police asked them to keep the body at the hospital. When the parents got to the hospital, the hospital asked for money. It is a problem. Then the parents went back to Muse and told the police department. The Muse police only gave a recommendation letter but did nothing to help," he said.

Human traffickers arrested the child, while he was collecting plastics and tins in Jail Gao town, on March 27. When he went to Jail Gao, he carried the younger child on his back. The child, was killed and the other younger child has been lost since that time and has not yet been found.