A man convicted of raping and murdering his 14-year-old cousin in Hsipaw Township has been sentenced to death and executed by a court under the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), according to local reports and an SSPP statement.

On June 14, 24-year-old Sai Sam, also known as Sai Sar Sam, a resident of Loi Kaeng Village in Hsipaw Township’s Sam Phurk Village Tract, lured his 14-year-old cousin, Nang Sam Hom, away under the pretext of helping her find work.

According to his confession and an investigation by the SSPP, Sai Sam took her to a banana plantation near Nam Hoo Nwe Village in Bawgyo Village Tract, where he raped and murdered her.

After Nang Sam Hom went missing, her parents filed a complaint with the SSPP on June 25. According to an SSPP information statement, Sai Sam was arrested the same day.

The case was tried by the SSPP/SSA Central Headquarters High Court, which sentenced him to death based on the severity of the crime. The sentence was carried out at 2 p.m. on August 30 at the SSPP Central Headquarters. The SSPP released an official statement the following morning.

During the investigation, Sai Sam confessed to the crime and led authorities to the scene. According to an SSPP statement issued on June 26, he admitted to strangling Nang Sam Hom, repeatedly stabbing her neck and abdomen with a broken bottle, and leaving her body beneath a banana tree.

The execution is part of a broader pattern of ethnic armed organizations in Shan State imposing severe punishments, including the death penalty, for serious crimes in territories under their control.

In areas controlled by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), public executions and lengthy prison sentences for crimes including murder, kidnapping, and arms smuggling have been documented on multiple occasions. The MNDAA carried out executions of seven people in Hsenwi and Lashio in September 2025 and five people in Lashio in April 2026. Several other executions were also carried out in Laukkai in 2024.

Similarly, in Hopang and Mong Pawk townships, which are controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the judiciary committee routinely imposes severe sentences, including capital punishment, for serious violent offenses.