• Burmese
Saturday, July 12, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °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

Latest Rape, Murder in Yangon Heightens Security Fears

San Yamin Aung by San Yamin Aung
January 30, 2018
in News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Mourners attend a prayer ceremony for Ma Shwe Yi Win at Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda on Jan. 28. / Thet Tun Naing / The Irrawaddy

Mourners attend a prayer ceremony for Ma Shwe Yi Win at Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda on Jan. 28. / Thet Tun Naing / The Irrawaddy

13.7k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON — The recent rape and murder of a 26-year-old woman in Yangon has raised security concerns among the city’s female population.

Police arrested a taxi driver, Myo Zaw Oo, who confessed to the brutal crime, on Jan. 24, three days after the body was found.

Ma Shwe Yi Win, a deputy supervisor at the Health Ministry’s Food and Drug Administration Department, went missing at about 7:30 on the night of Jan. 20 on her way home to Dagon Township after doing some shopping at the Hleden Center in downtown Yangon.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar, Thailand Ramp Up Cooperation on Border Issues

Myanmar, Thailand Ramp Up Cooperation on Border Issues

July 4, 2025
1.6k
Indonesian Influencer Given 7-Year Myanmar Prison Sentence

Indonesian Influencer Given 7-Year Myanmar Prison Sentence

July 3, 2025
1.3k
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
2.2k

The journey should take less than 30 minutes. But when Ma Shwe Yi Win failed to make it home later that night, her family reported her missing. The next morning police found her half-naked body lying near a sports field beside Nga Moe Yeik creek in North Dagon Township.

The police statement says the young woman had gotten into Myo Zaw Oo’s taxi. It says the two began to argue when the driver asked for a higher fare and that Myo Zaw Oo then choked his passenger and stabbed her in the throat with a screwdriver.

When Ma Shwe Yi Win lost consciousness, the statement says, Myo Zaw Oo drove her to North Dagon, where he raped her near the sports field. He then took her belongings, including a platinum necklace, earrings and a phone, and left her body.

Police arrested Myo Zaw Oo three days later at a mobile phone shop in Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township, where he had gone to install new software on the stolen phone.

News of the rape and murder has heightened fears that the city’s streets are not safe.

“I couldn’t even sleep when I heard about that,” said Ma Thuzar, 30.

She takes a taxi to work and back every day, preferring that to the public buses, on which sexual assault is a common occurrence.

“Now I don’t feel safe in a taxi either,” she said.

Myo Zaw Oo. / Yangon Police / Facebook

While cases of sexual harassment and abuse, from persistent catcalls and unwanted touching to assault, are nothing new in the country’s most populous city, reports of rape are on the rise. They were also the most common major crime recorded in Yangon in 2016 and 2017.

Rape cases accounted for 229 of 469 major crimes recorded in 2016, and for 270 of 478 major crimes in 2017.

“Before, I wasn’t afraid to work until late and go home around 9 or 9:30 p.m. But now I try to go home early,” said pharmacist Ma Zin Hline, 31.

Many women, who make up a growing share of the commercial capital’s workforce, are sharing their feelings of insecurity, including walking down the street in the evening and taking a bus or taxi at night.

Ma Wint Thu, who trains women on leadership in Yangon, said she worries that the fear of being a victim might limit the mobility and education of women.

“More parents will be concerned about their daughters’ safety as the reports of rape are on the rise,” she said.

Making cities safe

Ma Wint Thu said she feels unsafe walking home from the bus stop in South Dagon Township because there are no streetlights. She urged authorities to add more lights and relocate some bus stops that are currently far from residential areas.

Ma Hla Hla Yee, co-founder and director of Legal Clinic Myanmar, which provides free legal aid to mostly women and children, said the recent rape and murder highlighted the need to make cities safer for women.

She said Yangon’s shortage of streetlights and many dark patches give perpetrators an opportunity to commit their crimes, especially now that more and more women are working and heading home at night.

While police patrols and CCTV cameras are important, she said, taxis should also have to display the driver’s information more visibly.

The Yangon Region Transport Authority said it would enforce existing regulations on taxis plying the city’s streets and, starting next month, will conduct spot checks in collaboration with the police.

The authority also announced plans to remove window shades, stickers and advertising on taxies that can obscure the view inside by Feb. 1.

But the two women’s rights advocates stressed that imposing the rule of law was most important. And like many others, Ma Hla Hla Yee is calling for the death penalty for rapists.

“There can be only the death sentence for such a cruel crime,” she said.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Crime
San Yamin Aung

San Yamin Aung

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
37.5k

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
Members of the security forces are deployed to safeguard a diplomatic tour of Rakhine State’s northern Maungdaw Township in October. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy

Deputy Minister Says Tatmadaw Arming, Training up to 30 Militias in Maungdaw

Sukhoi Su-30 jet fighters. / Reuters

Moscow Stands by Military Deal with Tatmadaw After US Criticism

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

‘Reforms Are Not Optional’: Prominent Activist Urges NUG to Act Before It’s Too Late

3 days ago
1k
Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

3 days ago
1k

Most Read

  • Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Deploying Conscripts in Major Push to Reclaim Lost Territory

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Chief Thanks Trump for Shutting Down VOA and RFA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • KIA Denies Rumor Chief Under House Arrest in China

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

    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.