Oct 2, 2007 (DVB), A monk being treated at Rangoon general hospital for gunshot wounds, caused when soldiers fired on protesters in Sule last Tuesday, was moved by government officials to an unknown location, according to a witness.

The monk, assumed to be aged around 30, was sent to Rangoon general hospital's intensive care unit with a gunshot wound to his arm. Two members of the National League for Democracy in Thingangyun township, Ko Mya Than Htike and U Htun Shwe, and another unknown civilian were also sent to the hospital.

Ko Mya Than Htike's wife told DVB that all four patients were shot and wounded during the government guards' violent crackdown on protesters near Sule Pagoda on September 27 and were later taken to the hospital by civilian bystanders. She said the monk was seen being taken away from the hospital ward by police officers on Saturday morning.

"Now the monk is gone. We don't where he was taken to. He had a plaster-cast on his arm where he has the gun-shot wound. It was police officials who took him away," said Ko Mya Than Htike's wife.

She added that her husband and the other two patients remained at the hospital under the close supervision of government officials to prevent information on their situation from reaching the media.

"The rest of them, including my husband, are still there in hospital. We were only allowed to see him briefly after his arrival at the hospital and the next day. The officials said they don't want the news to spread."

She said that Ko Myint Than Htike suffered leg injuries from the bullet wound and is still not able to walk while U Htun Shwe was shot in his arm. The unknown civilian, who could only be identified as an older male, assumed to be over 50, had a bone in his leg shattered by a bullet and faces the possibility of losing his leg.

Reporting by DVB