More than 110 Rohingya arrested

Children among more than 110 Rohingya arrested while trying to flee Myanmar

Yangon, The Gulf Observer: Myanmar authorities have arrested more than 110 Rohingya, including children, for travelling “without official documents” as they tried to make their way to Malaysia.

Local media reported on Friday that a total of 112 people, including a dozen children, were arrested in the southeastern township of Bogale. Reports said a local court promptly handed five-year prison terms to 35 of the arrested people.

The report, which identified the group by the pejorative “Bengalis”, gave no date for the arrests, but a local newspaper quoted police sources as saying they took place the morning of December 20.

A local court sentenced 35 of the group to five years in jail for travelling without documents, the Global New Light reported, adding that 13 under the age of 18 would be detained at a “training school” until they were 20.