Friends say that the circumstances around Sao Sam Myint’s death from liver disease have raised questions.

A district officer in the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) who was freed from a state-run prison in May 2018 died on Monday in a Mandalay hospital.

Forty-year-old Sao Sam Myint succumbed to liver disease, according to his younger brother and SSPP/SSA spokesperson Maj Sai Pong Harn. After being detained for two years in Muse on the Shan-China border starting in March 2016, he was transferred to a Lashio prison.

“His death is not only a loss for our family but also a loss for our army,” Maj Sai Pong Harn told SHAN.

Sao Sam Myint’s remains will be returned to his hometown and he will be given a traditional cremation.

A friend, who spoke to SHAN on the condition of anonymity, alleged that the officer had been tortured during interrogations while in detention, and said that the circumstances surrounding his death have raised questions.

“Is his passing normal? That’s a question we ask,” the friend said, adding that the diagnosis of liver disease was unusual in a younger man who was not known to drink heavily.

Sao Sam Myint was arrested more than two years ago while traveling from Muse to Kutkai township in northern Shan State. At the time he was serving in the SSPP/SSA liaison office in Muse.

He is survived by his wife, daughter and son.