Suspect in Killing of Chin Woman Identified but Still at Large in Burma

05 August 2012: The killer of a Chin woman Ting Iang, whose lifeless body was found dumped in the jungle near Monya of Sagaing Division in June, has been identified as that of a Meitei insurgent soldier from Manipur State of India.

However, the killer, known in his Burmese name as Moe Tu, is still at large, according to the victim’s family.

“The fact that Mr. Moe Tu is not arrested until today remains a mystery to us. We were only told that his whereabouts is not known and that he must be hiding somewhere,” said the Chin family.

The identity of the killer was confirmed after Moe Tu’s girlfriend Ms Mi Nge from Kalaymyo, told the police about the killing when she surrendered herself to the local authorities.

The girlfriend was quoted as saying that Moe Tu stopped the car, tied Ting Iang up and dragged her away to the nearby jungle, where he killed her and dumped her body.

“Moe Tu and Mi Nge stayed in Taungzalat Hotel in Kalaymyo for a few days before his girlfriend eventually managed to run away from him fearing for her life,” said a friend of the victim’s family.

A source from Kalaymyo said Moe Tu was seen in and out of town visiting his Chin girlfriend
who lives in Pinlung Ward of Kalaymyo.

“Ting Iang (the murder victim) and Mi Nge are close friends and they used to travel together,” a Chin local close to the family told Chinland Guardian.

The murder incident was believed to have taken place near Monywa during their trip back to Kalaymyo from Mandalay on Moe Tu’s Pajero car in April this year.

The motive for the killing remains unknown.

However, another source suggests that Ms Ting Iang was killed in connection with a financial dispute in which Moe Tu was believed to have owed her money.

Originally from Tlangkhua village of Thantlang Township, Chin State, Ms Ting Iang moved to Tahan after having lived in Hakhalay of Sagaing Division. She was 39 years old at the time of her murder and is survived by five children.

The Meitei rebels, a group that is known to have been allowed by the Burmese soldiers to move freely in and out of the northwestern parts of Burma, including Tonzang township of northern Chin State, have been implicated in a range of human rights abuses against the local population, as well as being involved in illegal drug trade.

Reporting by Thawng Zel Thang
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