Grade-8 orphan from charity school missing; relatives suspect trafficking

Relatives Suspect an Orphaned Eighth-Grade Student from a Charity School Who Has Gone Missing Was Trafficked

October 20

It is reported that Ma Hmun Nant Thar, a 16-year-old orphaned eighth-grade student from the "Hanthar Aye" Youth Development Charity School in Thaik War Kyaung Village, Letpadan Township, Tharrawaddy District, western Bago Region, has been missing since October 11.

It is reported that U Pannya Sakka, the administrator of the "Hanthar Aye" Youth Development Charity School, phoned the girl's relatives on October 12 to inform them of the eighth-grade student's disappearance.

"The girl has neither a father nor a mother anymore. We live in Taikkyi Township, Yangon. When we were told the girl was missing, we went to the school on October 14. A woman who cooks at the school said that for several days already she had been luring and coaxing the girl, saying she could get her a job. The head monk had not reported it to the ward office. Nor had a missing-person report been filed with the relevant authorities," a relative of the missing girl told the city desk.

It is reported that after relatives collectively pressured and demanded that a missing-person report be filed and that a search be carried out, U Pannya Sakka again informed the relatives on October 15 that the girl was at a house near Kyimyindaing night market in Yangon.

"We told them that if the child can't stay at the school anymore, we would take her back. They keep saying they will only hand her back if the school's presiding monk himself comes to fetch her from the house where she currently is. Meanwhile, when we call and ask them to bring her, they keep putting it off from one day to the next. The head monk has remained completely unruffled until now. More than a week has passed, so I feel something is wrong. I called the head monk again today. He didn't answer the phone," a relative of the missing girl told the city desk.

Regarding the disappearance of eighth-grade student Ma Hmun Nant Thar, repeated phone calls were made to U Pannya Sakka, the administrator of the "Hanthar Aye" Youth Development Charity School, but there was no response.

Relatives suspect that Ma Hmun Nant Thar's disappearance may be a case of trafficking in which U Pannya Sakka, the administrator of the "Hanthar Aye" Youth Development Charity School, and the woman working as the cook conspired together to traffic and sell her.

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