RANGOON — Police are investigating the suspected murder of a young ethnic Kachin woman who was discovered with 19 stab wounds in her body on Thursday in Kachin State capital Myitkyina, according to Myitkyina police colonel U Than Oo.
“We are still collecting evidence. So far, we do not know who might have killed the woman,” U Than Oo told The Irrawaddy.
The victim was stabbed 17 times in her back and two times in the front of her body, he said.
Local sources identified the victim as a 24-year-old nursing school student named Mali Pan San and said that her body was discovered in her small shop outside of Myitkyina.
Police believe the young woman’s death could be related to a love interest, and they have already interviewed her boyfriend, according to a friend of the victim.
Following an examination of the woman’s body at the local hospital, police concluded she was not a victim of sexual violence.
“We need to find out why someone did this. Maybe someone did this because of a mental illness,” he said.
Police also do not believe the death is connected to ethnic politics, Col. U Than Oo added.
Aung Myo San, a friend of the victim, told The Irrawaddy that one of Mali Pan San’s neighbors witnessed her speaking to a young man on Thursday afternoon in front of her shop. That was the last time the neighbor saw his friend alive.
Aung Myo San said she believed that finding this man may lead to Mali Pan San’s killer.
“We have been searching for the man who talked to her,” he said, “but we haven’t found him yet.”
