A veteran politician and poet Sein Win from Monywa died after doused in petrol and set on fire on May 14.

He was killed when visiting a noodle factory in Monywa industrial zone on May 14 while a worker from that factory doused him with petrol and set him on fire.

“What I heard was that he was visiting his friend at the noodle factory to ask for donations for the Kanni locals. When he reached there, he talked with his friend. A factory worker doused him with petrol from behind and set him fire. The perpetrator escaped but some said he was arrested. I didn’t know which was true. He was admitted to hospital with serious burn injuries and died that night. His funeral will be the next day,” said a close friend of his.

He was well known among poets, politicians and philanthropists. 

One of his family members said, “He was suffering from a kidney disease. He went to the industrial zone after buying his medicine in the morning. He was chatting with his friend at the factory drinking green tea. The factory worker went outside pretending to buy betel and brought along three bottles of petrol. Then, he poured the petrol into a bucket and poured it over him as if he was splashing water during the Thingyan festival. And he set him on fire. The man ran after committing the crime. There was no fighting or quarrel between the worker and the dead. The man is from a village west of Chindwin River but he is also not a native of that village. We will know why he committed this crime when he is arrested.”

He frequently visited villages unable to get drinking water and dig wells free of charge for the villagers. He also built villages with no schools and built schools there.