A worker in a cement factory in the Dawei deep sea port and industrial zone, in Tennasserim Division of southern Burma, was killed by a bulldozer while sleeping on a pile of sand on October 4, 2013.
The worker, Maung Lwin Moe, 20 years old, was from Nga Bi Tat Nge village in Ban Tin Inn village tract, which is near the construction site of the deep sea port. The driver of the bulldozer was a Thai worker of Italian Thai Development Company. According to local sources, the driver was sent back to Thailand straight after the incident.
A local resident described what happened: “Four friends were sleeping on a pile of sand. As they were sleeping, a bulldozer started working near them. Three of them woke up and left, but one was left sleeping. The driver didn’t know he was there and the machine hit him in the neck, killing him on the spot.”
On October 10, the headman of Nga Pi Tad Nge village received 7.5 million kyat compensation from Italian-Thai Development Company on behalf of the family of the deceased. 1.5 million was handed over in cash, the rest was given as a cheque, to be withdrawn from a bank.
Local resident U Ohn Tin commented on the incident: “The family did not understand the procedure, so the case was not handled fairly. 7.5 million is very low. They should not have accepted it. They should have sued the company for much more.”
On October 10, about half of the workers in the cement factory refused to go to work, in protest over this case.
After the death, no one was allowed near the body, which was guarded by two policemen. The workers were all asked to stay quietly in the cement factory.
The workers in the deep sea port formerly received 150,000-190,000 kyat per month. Now they receive only between 50,000 to 100,000 kyat per month, according to local residents.
