• Burmese
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °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 Opinion Analysis

One Year on, Still No Justice in Myanmar’s ‘Victoria’ Toddler Rape Case

San Yamin Aung by San Yamin Aung
May 22, 2020
in Analysis
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0 0
A A
Campaigners take part in the ‘Justice for Victoria’ rally in Yangon in July 2019. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

Campaigners take part in the ‘Justice for Victoria’ rally in Yangon in July 2019. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

7k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

YANGON— It has been one year since the high-profile rape of a toddler in Naypyitaw upset and angered the entire country, yet there is still no sign of justice being done for the young victim.

On May 16, 2019, the girl, who was not yet 3 years old at the time—and who has since been dubbed “Victoria” by supporters on social media—was sexually assaulted at her nursery school, Wisdom Hill. News of the crime left Myanmar society reeling, prompting thousands to take to the streets of big cities to demand the truth.

Even the President’s Office weighed in, saying leaders at the highest level had been closely monitoring the case since it was first reported, and vowing to ensure that the truth is uncovered.

RelatedPosts

‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

July 14, 2025
966
‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

July 11, 2025
696
Two Prominent Myanmar Ex-Political Prisoners Die Hours Apart in Yangon

Two Prominent Myanmar Ex-Political Prisoners Die Hours Apart in Yangon

July 10, 2025
894

But as the case turned one year old on Saturday with the rapist still free, many netizens asked whether the truth was being actively suppressed in the case, and lamented the absence of the rule of law in the country.

“We opened the case to get the truth,” the victim’s father told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. “But the truth has eluded us,” he said.

An arrest was made shortly after the crime was reported, and a Naypyitaw court heard the case for nearly five months, before freeing the suspect—widely believed to have been framed—in December, citing lack of evidence. The accused was a driver of the Wisdom Hill school supervisor. Most members of the public appear to believe the two teenage sons of the supervisor to be the real perpetrators, based on the accounts of the victim and her parents, and see the accused driver as a scapegoat.

However, police stood by their conclusion that the driver was the only possible offender in the case and said there was no possibility that the two teenage brothers were the offenders. The brothers, whose father is a police lieutenant, were not among the witnesses heard by the court.

Legal adviser U Khin Maung Myint, who has been closely monitoring the case, said the truth has failed to come out because officials responsible for the investigation had failed to fulfill their duties.

The police have been widely criticized for mishandling the case, in particular for making false accusations, mishandling evidence and revealing the identities of the victim and her parents in violation of the Child Rights Law.

U Khin Maung Myint said that while there had been failures by the Attorney-General’s Office, the Advocate-General’s Office and the police—both in their investigation of the case and in failing to reinvestigate the case after the court process ended—the President’s Office also had a duty to closely follow up on the case, as it made pledges to the public several times that the truth would be established.

When The Irrawaddy asked what the President’s Office was doing about the case during a press briefing in late February, the office’s spokesperson U Zaw Htay said President U Win Myint had ordered the Supreme Court of the Union, the Home Affairs Ministry and the Union Attorney-General’s Office to find the truth in the case, to ensure accountability and responsibility, to comply with the law and to disclose the findings of the investigation.

The spokesperson said President U Win Myint had also instructed relevant organizations to take all necessary action against those who failed to comply with the law and procedures, and who failed to fulfill their duties in investigating the case. The police officers who revealed the identities of Victoria and her parents were among the responsible officials who would be punished, he said.

Yet to date, there has been no more word on punishments for the responsible officials.

The Irrawaddy contacted the President’s Office to ask about whether any officials had been punished, but had yet to receive a reply as of Thursday evening.

“Even after the president’s instructions to ensure responsibility and accountability in this high-profile case, no further information has been released to the public. It is yet another example of the lack of accountability,” legal adviser U Khin Maung Myint said, adding that it was important for those seeking justice to show unity as they push for the truth in the case.

Writer U Htin Lin Oo, a prominent figure in the public campaign calling for the truth in the Victoria case, said he would continue to demand justice until it is served.

Along with the Independent Lawyers’ Association of Myanmar (ILAM), the writer plans to sue the police officers involved in revealing the identities of the toddler and her relatives. However, this effort has been delayed due to travel restrictions and stay-home orders imposed by the government in the wake of the country’s first COVID-19 case in late March, he said.

Lawyer U Thein Than Oo from ILAM said the group would press ahead with the lawsuit against the police officials once the travel restrictions are lifted.

“We can’t accept that the case will just end like this. We are not in positions of authority, but as legal professionals we will do whatever we can to fight this injustice,” he said.

The victim’s father told The Irrawaddy that the family’s original plans, worked out with their lawyers, have also been put on hold due to the COVID-19 crisis. He vowed to continue the fight, however.

“Truth is our life,” he said. “And that is what we will continue to pursue.”

You may also like these stories:

In Myanmar, Concerns That China’s Help on COVID-19 Comes With Strings Attached

In Western Myanmar, State Counselor’s Praise for Tatmadaw Causes Unease

Your Thoughts …
Tags: CorruptionCrimegender issuesJustice
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
37.6k

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
General Close to Myanmar Junta Boss Placed Under House Arrest, Interrogated for Corruption
Burma

General Close to Myanmar Junta Boss Placed Under House Arrest, Interrogated for Corruption

by The Irrawaddy
September 14, 2023
28.7k

The arrest of ‘kickback king’ Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun, once seen as a possible successor to Min Aung Hlaing, comes...

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
Post-Coup Myanmar is a Family Business: Min Aung Hlaing & Co
Burma

Post-Coup Myanmar is a Family Business: Min Aung Hlaing & Co

by David Aung
February 8, 2024
18k

Min Aung Hlaing is an opportunistic businessman in military uniform and his children are more mercenary than the offspring of...

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
Load More
Next Post
Then Tanintharyi Region Chief Minister Daw Lei Lei Maw in 2017 / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

Ex-Regional Chief Minister Jailed for 30 Years in Landmark Myanmar Corruption Case

A COVID-19 receiving area at Yangon General Hospital. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

Myanmar Parliament Approves US$50 M World Bank Loan for Health Care Systems

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

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

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

1 week ago
1.3k
What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

1 day ago
980

Most Read

  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Moves into Nawnghkio Outskirts

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar and Russian Regimes Push Indian Trade Corridor to Bypass Western Sanctions

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    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.