Two Year Old Rohingya Boy Died At Sittwe Hospital After Doctor’s Injection

Sittwe, Arakan – A two year old Rohingya boy died at Sittwe General Hospital in Arakan State’s capital, Sittwe on December 6, 2014 after he was given an injection by the doctor. 

Two year old Twariq Zia, son of Zia Ul Rahman from Dar Paing IDP camp in Sittwe, was seriously suffering from diarrhea. The parents of the boy took him to Dar Paing clinic but the doctor at Dar Paing clinic advised them to take their son to Sittwe General Hospital. 

Alqama, mother of Twariq Zia took her son to Sittwe General Hospital on December 5th at 2:30 pm. On the day of admission to the hospital, the doctors and nurses treated the boy very well and he almost recovered. Alqama thought her son could be discharged from the hospital on the following day. 

However, on the second day, December 6th at 8:00 am, a doctor came and gave an injection. Immediately after the injection the boy lost breathing and died, according to Alqama, the mother of Twariq Zia. Two hour after the death of Twariq Zia, the body of the child and Alqama were sent back to Dar Paing IDP camp from Sittwe General Hospital escorted by security forces.

This most recent summer a string of similar incidents were reported at Sittwe General Hospital, where doctors administered injections to young mothers giving birth who died shortly after. Similarly there were reports of patients, including young mothers being beaten and killed while in the hospitals care. Discrimination and further victimization of Rohingya attempting to seek treatment at Rakhine run hospitals has been rampant in Arakan State, Myanmar, and several cases have been documented by Rohingya living in the state and independent agencies.