By HTUN KHAING & NYAN HLAING LYNN | FRONTIER
YANGON & NAY PYI TAW — Police are seeking a former Lieutenant-Colonel as a third suspect in the assassination of prominent lawyer U Ko Ni last month, according to a statement from the President’s Office on Wednesday evening.
Aung Win Khine of Dawbon Township in Yangon, who retired from the Tatmadaw in 2014, is the younger brother of Aung Zaw Win, who was arrested in the Kayin State border town of Myawaddy the day after Ko Ni’s murder.
The statement showed stills from CCTV footage, which it said showed Aung Win Khine present at the Yangon Airport’s new international terminal at the time of the attack on January 29.
According to Aung Zaw Win’s police statement, Aung Win Khine asked his brother to find someone to carry out the murder in July 2016, promising K10 million as an advance payment and a further K100 million after Ko Ni was killed.
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Aung Zaw Win’s statement said that Kyi Lin, who carried out the act, was chosen between August and September last year, with the murder weapon supplied by a man named U Myint Swe in Thailand’s Umphang district.
Police alleged that Aung Win Khine guided Kyi Lin and others over the phone the day of the murder.
Kyi Lin was taken into custody the night of the murder, after attempting to flee the scene and killing a taxi driver
The President’s Office statement did not provide any details about Aung Win Khine’s likely whereabouts.
Ko Ni, a renowned expert on Myanmar’s military-drafted Constitution, was acting as legal advisor to the National League for Democracy government at the time of his death.
He was reportedly working on efforts to reform the 2008 charter, under which the military retains broad political powers.
