Chin State Lawmaker Dies in Road Collision

By Nyein Nyein 6 January 2017

Hung Khen—a Chin State lawmaker representing Matupi Township Constituency 1—died on Friday morning after suffering severe head injuries in a motorbike accident at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening.

The 38-year-old National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker died on his way to Mandalay hospital on Friday at 3:40 a.m. after the accident in Matupi Township, said the Chin State government.

“He received emergency treatment at the Matupi hospital for nearly one hour, but due to his serious condition, we decided to take him to Mandalay,” said Salai Isaac Khen, the Chin State minister for electricity and energy.

“But he died as soon as we arrived at the hospital in Mindat Township,” he explained.

The collision occurred when three young people on a motorbike hit Hung Khen’s. Of the three others involved, one suffered severe injuries while the other two suffered minor injuries and were detained by authorities.

Hung Khen became the fourth NLD lawmaker to have died within a year of being elected in the 2015 general election.

Last month, Mandalay regional lawmaker U Aung San Oo died from liver cancer.

Both of their constituencies will remain vacant in the upcoming by-elections as the processing of candidates has already finished, according to U Tin Tun, the director general of the Union Election Commission (UEC).

Ninety-five candidates applied to contest seats in the by-elections on April 1 for a total of 19 seats in the Union and state level parliaments, according to the UEC.

Zue Zue contributed to this report.