In Paung Township, Mon State, a 16-year-old girl with a mental disability was repeatedly raped by two elderly men, according to her family members.

On the evening of March 21, neighbours noticed her unusual condition, and it was later found that she had been repeatedly raped and was six months pregnant.

According to the questioning, over the past six months, while her father was at the monastery, two men from the same neighbourhood entered her home and raped her at least six times, the girl said.

The girl lives with her father, who also has a mental disability, a family member said.

“They are just father and daughter. Every morning at 5 a.m., the father locks the house and goes to the monastery for duties. The men entered from the back of the house, and raped her. They threatened to kill her if she told anyone. They did not come together, but entered the house individually. The girl said each assaulted her four or five times,” the family member said.

One of the suspects, U Aye Cho, has been arrested and is being investigated at Paung Police Station under Section 376 of the Penal Code, while the other suspect, U Ngwe, remains at large.

“Only one has been arrested so far. The 74-year-old suspect has not been taken into custody. He is no longer seen in the neighbourhood. They are not originally from this area; they came to live here because their wives are from here,” the family member added.

Currently, local Mon community organisations are assisting the victim and her father.