Taxi driver U Saw Tar Aye, 64, murdered and robbed in Yangon; motorcycle taxi driver stabbed to death while transporting passenger in Mawlamyine

Yangon, July 3 In the Taungoo Township of Yangon Region, 64-year-old taxi driver U Saw Tar Aye was killed and robbed by two young men who hired him as passengers. According to police radio, two young men, aged 19 and 24, believed to be the perpetrators, have been apprehended. Around 6 PM on June 24, taxi driver U Saw Tar Aye, while returning home after finishing his day's work, was hired by two young men in their early 20s who wanted to travel from Insein to Taungoo. He picked them up en route. The young men then requested to extend the ride to Mubi, stating that Taungoo was crowded. However, upon reaching Mubi, they claimed it was still not clear and asked U Saw Tar Aye to drive back towards Taungoo. It was then that they allegedly killed U Saw Tar Aye, stole his vehicle and belongings, and fled. Before he was killed, U Saw Tar Aye had called his wife and told her, "I'm coming home, I'm near Wireless Road. I'll be back after refueling." When he could no longer be reached by phone, his family used the GPS system installed in his vehicle to search for him and found U Saw Tar Aye deceased. U Saw Tar Aye's daughter wrote on social media that her father usually finished work early and did not drive late into the night. She stated that it was only on that day that he gave a ride to two passengers en route, which led to this incident. On June 30, U Saw Tar Aye's memorial ceremony was held, and on the same day, the two suspects, aged 19 and 24, were arrested. U Saw Tar Aye's daughter also advised that taxi drivers should install partitions between the driver's cabin and the passenger area, and if young passengers exhibit suspicious behavior, drivers should stop the vehicle in a crowded place and seek help. Similarly, in Mawlamyine, Mon State, motorcycle taxi driver Ko Hein Zaw Oo went out of contact after picking up a passenger from Pearl White Hotel around 8 PM on July 1. Early on July 2, someone who found his mobile phone reported discovering a suspicious object nearby. Rescue teams and police went to search the area and initially found a driver's license belonging to U Aung Hein Oo. Continuing the search, they discovered Ko Hein Zaw Oo's body with stab wounds inside a bush below the Taung Yone Tan View Point in Mawlamyine. His wife confirmed that the body was that of Ko Hein Zaw Oo. Deceased Ko Hein Zaw Oo resided on Sayargyi Gone (6) Street in the Thiri Myay Ward of Mawlamyine and made a living as a motorcycle taxi driver. Currently, the relevant authorities are continuing their investigation to apprehend the perpetrators of the incident.