Burmese poet on the run after claiming he had president's portrait tattooed on his penis in Facebook poem

Maung Saunkha says the post was not about any president in particular

The poet is from Myanmar's largest city, Yangon (Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty Images))

A Burmese poet is on the run to evade prosecution after claiming to have an image of a president tattooed on his penis.

According to The Irrawaddy, Maung Saungkha, who lives in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) in Myanmar posted a poem on his Facebook page which included the lines: “I have the president’s portrait tattooed on my penis/How disgusted my wife is.”

Mr Saungkha has been accused of breaking the law by defaming the President. Police in the region confirmed to The Irrawaddy a case has been filed against Mr Saungkha.

The case is believed to be filed under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Act which carries a maximum three year jail penalty.

He reportedly went on the run after being alerted the verse was noticed by staff in President Thein Sein’s office, with the director Zaw Htay saying Mr Saungkha should “be prepared to take responsibility for what he did”.

Police reportedly visited his home, but had just missed Mr Saungkha.

The 23-year-old said he had not been home in two weeks, since he was alerted to police involvement.

Speaking to the news outlet, he said he had no intention to defame the Burmese president and that the verse was about oppressive authority in general and not directed at anybody in particular.

“It could be about Saddam Hussein or Assad,” he said, “Why do they think it’s Thein Sein? There’s not a single mention of Myanmar in my poem. The government doesn’t understand poetry. Thetya re afraid of poets as poetry carries public voices.”

Mr Saungkha believes he has been on the authorities 'list' for a while, as he often participates in student activist campaigns.

The case follows that of Patrick Khum Jaa Lee, 43, who was arrested after allegedly sharing an amended photo of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s head on a naked woman’s body on social media.