Writer planning to sue police for identifying three-year-old rape victim in Myanmar

Alleged rape sparked major backlash after delays to probe into case

Htin Lin Oo said he would file the lawsuit against the Myanmar Police Force due to its officers identifying he three-year-old victim and her parents in the case at a news briefing (AFP via Getty)

A writer is planning to sue the police in Myanmar for naming the suspects in a rape case which involves a nursery school.

An alleged rape that took place in May sparked a major backlash after a probe into the case was delayed.

Htin Lin Oo said he would file the lawsuit on Thursday against the Myanmar Police Force due to its officers identifying the three-year-old victim and her parents in the case at a news briefing last month.

The suspect was a driver at Nay Pyi Taw nursery school which the alleged victim went to, according to the Myanmar Times.

The writer said: “After I receive a letter of representation from the child’s father on January 2, I will sue the people behind the Ye Zarni Facebook page who made public the child’s name and personal information.

“I will keep going until we find out the truth and get an acceptable result. The lawsuit aims to identify the real culprit.”

Last month, a court in the city of Nay Pyi Taw ordered the main defendant to be released and dismissed the charges against them in the case because of a dearth of evidence.

But the police later hit out at the conclusion to release the suspect and discard the charges at a news conference which divulged the name of the victim and details about her parents.

Police took the suspect into custody to be interrogated while investigating but freed him at a later date due to insufficient evidence.

But he was arrested again in July and charged in court and has been in jail since then.