• Burmese
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Almost a Year After NLD Adviser’s Murder, Key Suspect Still at Large

Kyaw Phyo Tha by Kyaw Phyo Tha
December 12, 2017
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
U Ko Ni, left, with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and his wife in an undated photo taken at the lawyer’s office in Yangon. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

U Ko Ni, left, with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and his wife in an undated photo taken at the lawyer’s office in Yangon. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

6.8k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON — As a human rights and constitutional lawyer, U Ko Ni helped others find justice. But for U Ko Ni himself, justice remains elusive.

This coming January will mark the one-year anniversary of his tragic death at Yangon International Airport, where he was shot at close range in broad daylight. But 11 months after his death, Aung Win Khaing, the suspected mastermind of the assassination, is still at large. A statement issued by the President’s Office said the former lieutenant colonel is believed to have hired gunman Kyi Lin to shoot U Ko Ni.

The ex-army officer vanished into thin air after the killing. Four other suspects have been on trial for several months, and as of last week 65 of 80 witnesses have testified. The motive for the murder, according to the national police chief, was a “personal grudge;” he said the alleged conspirators were “resentful” of U Ko Ni’s political activities.

RelatedPosts

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

The Hidden Fallout From China’s Cross-Border Crime Crackdown in Myanmar

June 9, 2025
1.7k
Thaksin Targets Myanmar’s Wa Army, Calls for No Mercy in Drug War

Thaksin Targets Myanmar’s Wa Army, Calls for No Mercy in Drug War

May 28, 2025
1.2k
Thai Court Issues Warrants Over Deadly Tower Collapse During Quake

Thai Court Issues Warrants Over Deadly Tower Collapse During Quake

May 16, 2025
419

With the murder trial having dragged on now for nearly a year without the main suspect, longtime friends and colleagues of U Ko Ni expressed their disappointment with the Home Affairs Ministry — which controls the country’s police force — for its failure to arrest Aung Win Khaing.

“They are not doing their job properly. It disappoints me to see the main suspect is still at large,” said U Kyee Myint, a lawyer who cofounded the Myanmar Lawyers Network five years ago with U Ko Ni.

The police announced in June that they had no new information about Aung Win Khaing and would not be able to arrest him soon despite the fact that he was last seen in Naypyitaw a few days after the killing.

“Why is the Home Affairs Ministry so ineffective?” U Kyee Myint said.

According to Myanmar’s controversial 2008 Constitution, the ministry that controls the country’s police force is to be run by the military.

U Ko Ni was the legal adviser for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party. The 65-year-old lawyer was believed to have conceived of her current position — state counselor — so that she could serve as the country’s de facto leader despite being constitutionally barred from the presidency.

The Muslim lawyer was critical of the military-drafted Constitution, which guarantees the military 25 percent of the seats in Parliament and control of the government’s three most powerful ministries: defense, border affairs and home affairs. He actively lobbied for the amendment of the charter, one of the NLD’s main goals and yet to be realized.

U Ko Ni is believed to have been drafting a new charter at the time of his murder, having decided there was no point trying to amend the 2008 Constitution since any changes to it require more than 75 percent of the votes in Parliament. Many people believe the NLD adviser paid the price for his plans. If true, the Constitution he sought to replace is casting a shadow over his own case.

Robert San Aung, a human rights lawyer and longtime friend of U Ko Ni, said the case was unusual because most of the suspects are former military men. He said that might make the police reluctant to arrest Aung Win Khaing, given that the military runs the Ministry of Home Affairs, which controls the police. (Of the five murder suspects, three are ex-army officers; Aung Win Khaing held the highest rank among them.)

“The police chief doesn’t seem to use his full authority,” said Robert San Aung, who is representing a taxi driver who was killed during his pursuit for the gunman who shot U Ko Ni.

“It would be easier to bring him [Aung Win Khaing] to court if the police force were not under the ministry,” he said. “To make it happen, the only way is to amend the Constitution.”

Police Colonel Shwe Thaung, who heads the national police force’s Criminal Investigation Department, was not available for comments on Tuesday.

U Nay La, the lawyer representing U Ko Ni’s family in the case, told The Irrawaddy that the motive for the assassination could be made clear if Aung Win Khaing were in court.

“We would learn more about who is behind the case,” he said.

U Nay La said police were doing a poor job of investigating the murder but declined to elaborate because the case was ongoing.

“All we want is that action be taken against those who are guilty according to the law. But we are more interested in why the assassination happened,” he said.

The Irrawaddy’s Tin Htet Paing contributed reporting.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Crime
Kyaw Phyo Tha

Kyaw Phyo Tha

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar’s BGF: A Family-Run Criminal Enterprise With Friends Across Asia
Burma

Myanmar’s BGF: A Family-Run Criminal Enterprise With Friends Across Asia

by The Irrawaddy
May 22, 2024
37.3k

A new report by JFM spotlights the organized crime empire of junta-allied Karen warlord Saw Chit Thu and his family,...

Read moreDetails
Notorious Myanmar Arms Broker Convicted of Cash Smuggling in Singapore 
Burma

Notorious Myanmar Arms Broker Convicted of Cash Smuggling in Singapore 

by The Irrawaddy
January 8, 2024
28.8k

US-sanctioned Kyaw Min Oo and two accomplices were caught at Changi airport with over half a million dollars.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Detains Generals Who Surrendered to Resistance in Laukkai
Burma

Myanmar Junta Detains Generals Who Surrendered to Resistance in Laukkai

by The Irrawaddy
January 8, 2024
24k

The detention of the six brigadier generals is required under the military’s rules following last week’s surrender to the MNDAA,...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption
Junta Cronies

Myanmar Junta Reportedly Set to Prosecute High-Profile Businessmen for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
October 18, 2023
15.9k

Regime cronies Thein Win Zaw and Mu Mu Shein are set to follow former lieutenant general Moe Myint Tun as...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar’s Karen BGF Launches ‘Scam Crackdown’ After Chinese Celebs Abducted
Burma

Myanmar’s Karen BGF Launches ‘Scam Crackdown’ After Chinese Celebs Abducted

by Maung Kavi
January 16, 2025
14.9k

Junta-affiliated militia overseeing notorious transnational crime hub issues ‘clean-up’ message to Chinese tycoons in Myawaddy.  

Read moreDetails
Notorious Cybercrime Boss ‘Kills Himself’ in Myanmar Border Scam Town  
Burma

Notorious Cybercrime Boss ‘Kills Himself’ in Myanmar Border Scam Town  

by The Irrawaddy
November 17, 2023
9.6k

Ming Xuechang, wanted by China over telecom and online scams in Kokang’s Laukkai that targeted Chinese citizens, shot himself while...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
A prospective buyer checks a piece of jade at Myanmar’s Gems Emporium 2017 on Tuesday in Naypyitaw. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

Sanctions Unlikely to Affect Gems Industry

Nai Banya Mon (L), Zo Tum Hmung, Sai Nyunt Lwin, and Nai Pon Nya Mon, who all spoke at the book launch. / Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy

Ethnic Groups Say Time Has Come To See Detailed Plan For Federal System

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

4 days ago
1.2k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

6 days ago
1.2k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    Myanmar Junta Attacks to Reclaim KIA’s Jade and Rare Earth Strongholds

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • China is Systematically Dismantling Tibetan Monastic Traditions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Defusing the Thai-Cambodian Border Row

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Sagaing Protesters Condemn Civilian Govt Toll Charges

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Sagaing Region Braced for Myanmar Junta Airstrikes After Jet Crash

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.