Man beheaded in Rihkhuadar

7 November 2020 – A man identified as Sei Thang, aka Thanga, killed Kap Hlei Piang, father of two, in Rihkhuadar (Rihkhawdar), an Indian-Myanmar border town in Falam Township last Tuesday.

The 28-year-old killer cut off with a knife the head of the victim, 43, a Suangdo villager working for the Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) stationed in Rihkhuadar, according to sources from the government.

Lalpeklawma, the head of the Information and Public Relations Department in Rihkhawdar said in the Khonumthung News: “The incident occurred around 6:30pm. It happened in the office.”

“He wrapped up his head in his longyi (sarong) and carried it into the town. Then the police arrested him,” he added.

The motives behind this action still remain unknown although Thanga is reportedly said to be mentally challenged. Local sources said that the two men were in the office together and likely to have an argument about religion.

A Rihkhuadar resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “He [victim] is a supervisor of the re-transmitting station in our town. Thanga [killer] is a stranger who moved to our town for about a year. He lives in a factory which crushes stones. He lives alone. I have seen him once or twice only. The killer said he was ordered to kill by God. Whatever we asked him, he said it was an order from God.”

Following the immediate report by the victim’s spouse, the police arrested the killer. He was then taken to the place where the incident had occurred and asked to share how it had happened.

The body of Kap Hlei Piang, who is survived by his wife and two children, was sent to the Rihkhuadar station hospital for a post-mortem before the funeral service. – Reporting by Cer Len Ci and Naomy VT Chin.