The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), also known as the Kokang Army, has executed seven convicted criminals in front of a public audience in Man Pang village, Zay Ou village tract, Hsenwi Township.

According to local sources, at around 7:00 a.m. on September 26, the MNDAA’s military administration committee carried out the executions at the Pang Lawt market in Hsenwi, which is under its control.

The convicted included the man who raped and murdered a Chinese schoolteacher on August 28 in Man Pang village, along with others found guilty of murder, armed robbery, and kidnapping for ransom.

“There were four murderers, including the one who robbed and killed a grandfather and his grandson, and the man who raped and murdered the Chinese schoolteacher. The others were thieves and robbers,” a local who attended the hearing told SHAN.

An MNDAA official also announced that among the executed was one of their own soldiers, sentenced for committing premeditated murder.

The latest executions come amid rumors that the MNDAA, which currently controls Hsenwi, may be required to hand the town back to the military council within September.

This is not the first time the Kokang Army has conducted public executions. On April 10, the MNDAA executed seven convicted criminals in Lashio and sentenced one rapist to life imprisonment. In April and December 2024, it also carried out public death sentences and life imprisonment verdicts in Laukkai for crimes including kidnapping, extortion, rape, and murder.

At that time, the European Union (EU) strongly condemned the use of the death penalty, calling it “inhuman and degrading” and a rejection of “human dignity.” The EU urged the MNDAA to follow international human rights standards and the rule of law.

A woman from Hsenwi said, “Just hearing the news that they are going to shoot people makes my heart race. It’s just like in Lashio—they’re putting on a show before they retreat.”