Sai Lai Pang was travelling by motorbike to his village of Nawng Long on 12 May when he was shot for failing to stop at an army checkpoint, according to his mother.
“When my son came home at around 10pm, he was crying and told us he had been shot by the army. He was covered in blood. We took him to the village clinic,” said Nang An.
She said that her son had suffered injuries on his head, arms and legs, and was later sent to hospital in Muse where he had bullet shrapnel removed from his body. He is said to be in a stable condition.
Units of the Burmese army’s 88th Light Infantry Division are active in the area where the shooting took place.
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Sai Lai Pang’s father, Sai Mauk Hkam, said he would like the soldiers who shot his son to answer for their actions. However, the family are as yet to pursue legal action as they must prioritise the boy’s recovery, he said.
“If the army wanted to question him, they could have just done that without resorting to violence. The shooting happened not too far from our home,” said Sai Mauk Hkam, adding that police and army officials had visited Sai Lai Pang in hospital, where they insisted they did not shoot him.
A local resident named Sai Hin Lek confirmed that the victim had been shot by soldiers manning the checkpoint after he failed to follow an order to stop.
Muse police and the Burmese army could not be reached for comment.
