A prisoner was beaten to death by a prison officer in Myaungmya Prison in Ayeyarwaddy’s Myaungmya Township, according to locals who spoke to Mizzima.

They said that on the evening of 27 June a prison officer beat a prisoner who was working on renovating the outside of a cell in the Myaungmya Prison compound.

The beaten prisoner was rushed to Myaungmya People's Hospital, but he died on the morning of 28 June, according to staff at the hospital.

One member of the hospital staff who wanted to remain anonymous said: 'A prisoner, accompanied by prison officers, was sent from the Myaungmya Prison hospital. He had been beaten by a prison officer and was then sent to the hospital. I saw that he had vomited blood but I don't know who the victim was because we weren't allowed to see the patient.'

According to the staff member the body was taken away as soon as the prisoner died.

There are more than 150 political prisoners in Myaungmya Prison, but the victim was not a political prisoner, according to a preliminary investigation by the families of political prisoners held at the prison.