Dr. Than Htay Aung, the station medical officer, said the employee on fishing-boat, Phyo Ko Ko, was unconscious when he arrived at the hospital on December 24 and serious injuries and signs of fatigue were found on the patient.

“The patient was unconscious when he arrived. He came to the hospital with a female friend. He was very weak and there were cuts and abrasions on the whole body. I told him to go to Mawlamyine because he was in critical condition. The woman accompanying the patient asked for my help to treat him here due to social complications. There were injuries on the knees. When we shaved his head, we found a wound on his head. The scalp was bruised and there was pus [on the scalp]. He was in critical condition when he first arrived but he is getting better now,” said Dr. Than Htay Aung.

Phyo Ko Ko started working in the Kyaikkami fishing industry after contacting the agents and he claimed that he was beaten with a pulley-belt every two days for three out of four months since he started working at sea. He also insisted that he was not fed well except when he started working.

“When I arrived at sea, I didn’t understand the work nature. So I didn’t know on which boat I go for work. When I asked the helmsman, he said I will be assigned to a boat and I was sent to Ko Than Soe. I was changed to another boat because he didn’t like how I worked. So, I was sent to another boat. There were three people on the boat. They didn’t like how I worked. They could have told me verbally [instead of hitting me]. My injuries started to increase. When I had a fever due to my wound, I couldn’t work anymore. They didn’t talk about taking me to shore. In the end, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I knew I would die if I didn’t get admitted to the hospital. So, I went inside another small boat and slept there. When I arrived at the shore with the boat, I dozed off while I was walking and I lost conscious. When I woke up, I was at the hospital. A motorcyclist took me there,” said Phyo Ko Ko.

According to him, the senior fishermen beat him, hit his knees with a hammer, and did not give him enough food.

“The senior fishermen hit me with the pulley-belt. They didn’t feed me well so I became malnourished. At first, they gave me enough foodstuffs. Later, they provided food for me with scales. When they hit my neck with the pulley-belt, I tried to avoid it so it hit my ear. They hit my knee with a hammer. There were two of them so they could bully me any time they wanted. I didn’t even dare to sleep because I was worried about when they would bully me again. I was scared of them and I was beaten every two days. I wasn’t even given a plate to eat my meals. They ate curries while I had to eat dried fish,” said Phyo Ko Ko.

Although he was beating tortured at sea, he was unable to contact the boat owners and seek help. He said he had to jump into the sea twice to escape from being beaten with the pulley-belt.

“I wanted to jump into the water. I jumped into the water. I was lucky that I didn’t die. I jumped into the water second time to escape from tortures and I tried to swim to the shore. I was about to reach the shore but they followed me with the boat and took me back. They beat me up more with grudge. I couldn’t endure anymore. I was beaten for three months,” he said.

Although the boat owners have provided medical charges while Phyo Ko Ko is receiving medical treatment at the hospital, no report was made to the police to take action against the two torturers.

The number of missing fishermen is rising at sea in Kyaikkami and Ye every year and 29 cases and over 60 cases respectively took place in Kyaikkami and Ye last year.