The bodies of Phaw Gam Yaw (65) and N Kham Naw Seng aka Daw J Naw Seng (30) who were missing for over one month from Mai Khaung refugee camp in Mansi Township, Bhamo District were reportedly found in the jungle on March 8.

The Tatmadaw (government military) allegedly arrested Phaw Gam Yaw from Kachin Baptist Convention and N Kham Naw Seng from Kachin Catholic Church on January 31 this year and they have been missing since then.

Mai Khaung village administrator Mrang Seng Bauk said, “We have exhumed the dead bodies and we could verify them. They might have been murdered over one month ago as their heads were crushed. We ordered to rebury them as the bodies are highly decomposed.”

The bodies of missing men were found about two furlongs away from Mai Khaung. An autopsy was conducted there and they were reburied near the place their bodies were found.

Village administrator Mrang Seng Bauk said that they did not know army unit arrested them on their way to their farmland. 

Administrator Mrang Seng Bauk said, “The police accompanied the team which exhumed and verified the body and conducted autopsies. We will proceed in accordance with the law based on the investigation report and forensic report. The responsible persons from the court also accompanied this team.”

Mansi Township Police Force Chief Pol. Capt. Myo Thant, Township medical officer Dr. Thein Aung, Township magistrate Kyaw Thu, Township City Development Committee (municipal) Chairman Zaw Rein and other departmental officials arrived in Mai Khaung village to exhume the dead bodies for investigation.

CSO representative Awng Seng Sam who took part in exhuming the dead bodies said that department officials and villagers totaling about 60 people visited the place and exhumed the bodies after the Tatmadaw gave permission at about 2 pm for the exhumation.

“Though we do not know which army unit arrested them but we have eye witnesses who confirmed they were army personnel. These two people were arrested at a hut in their farmland about three furlongs from the village. And we found the place in the farmland where they were tied up after their arrest. Now we found their dead bodies from the place about two furlongs away from the village,” he said.

A missing complaint was lodged at Mansi Police Station on February 5 and the dead bodies were found today so that the police were called to investigate the case, he added.