A man accused of raping a toddler at a private school in Naypyidaw has filed a lawsuit against the police a year after the case against him was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

Aung Kyi, also known as Aung Kyaw Myo, was arrested twice on suspicion of raping a three-year-old girl identified by the pseudonym “Victoria” in May 2019. He was held in police custody for a total of more than six months.

The case attracted nationwide attention and provoked a series of protests over the way it was handled by police. 

Khin Maung Zaw, the lawyer who defended Aung Kyi in the original court case, told Myanmar Now that the new lawsuit was submitted to Dekkhina district court in Naypyidaw on Tuesday.

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The court, which had also tried Aung Kyi under the original charges, agreed to accept the case, he said, adding that his client would be seeking 500 million kyat ($375,000) in damages.

“We filed a case for 500 million kyat to compensate for the wrongful detention. The lawsuit is directed at the entire Myanmar Police Force, but it names the force’s director general, Lt-Gen Aung Win Oo, as the chief defendant,” he said.

Aung Kyi was arrested last year on suspicion of assaulting the girl at the Wisdom Hill Preschool in Naypyidaw. However, the charges against him were dropped on December 18, 2019, after the Dekkhina district court ruled that prosecutors had failed to provide sufficient evidence of his guilt. No other suspects have been identified in the case.

Khin Maung Zaw said that the court would hold another hearing on December 18, after which it would hear testimony from the police.  

He added that it was too early to assess the case’s likelihood of success, as this would be the first time that an institution had been taken to court in Myanmar. 

He noted that the lawsuit was an example of what is known in international jurisprudence as strategic litigation, meaning that it aimed to have an impact beyond the case at hand. As such, it would be the first court case of its kind in Myanmar, he said, and could result in Aung Kyi being charged with contempt of court.

According to Khin Maung Zaw, legal representation will be provided pro bono by the Human Rights Subcommittee of the Independent Lawyers’ Association of Myanmar, with two other Naypyidaw-based lawyers also offering legal assistance. 

Myanmar Now contacted Police Colonel Kyaw Thiha, the spokesperson for the Myanmar Police Force, about the lawsuit, but did not receive a response.

Daw Ye, Aung Gyi's mother, said that the lawsuit would give her son and her family a chance to restore their dignity.

“People have their dignity. My son, as a young bachelor, was humiliated, and so were we. Because we are not satisfied with this, we are suing them as a counterclaim,” she said.

Aung Naing, a supporter of the “Justice for Victoria” campaign from Lewe township in Naypyidaw, said that as a citizen, he was happy to hear about Aung Kyi’s lawsuit.

“Only when people fight back will [the police] not dare to do such things again,” he said.