A Mandalay taxi driver was murdered and his cab was stolen when he was driving a customer to a pagoda on 2 October.

According to reports the taxi driver, Ko Pyae from Maha Myaing (2) ward in Mandalay City’s Maha Aung Myay Township, was stabbed to death and his body was dumped by the side of the road close to the intersection of Industrial Park Road and 128th Street in Pyigyidagun Township in Mandalay City. It was later found there at around 8:00 p.m. the same evening.

A local volunteer organisation took the body to the mortuary at Mandalay Hospital and the mortuary, in an attempt to find out more about the victim they posted about him on Facebook. The post was seen by Ko Pyae’s family members who identified him.

A person close to Ko Pyae’s family said: "He accompanied a person who rented a car at around 7:00 in the morning to go on a pilgrimage through the city. He couldn't be reached all day, which worried his family members. They realised that he had been killed and that his car had been stolen when they saw the Facebook posts about the body in the mortuary.”

He added: “The murderer was reportedly staying at a guesthouse close to the intersection of 26th and 54th Streets in Aung Myay Thazan Township, according to the police investigation. He was recorded with the victim’s car on CCTV, after that [being recorded on CCTV] he returned to the guest house, checked out and fled.”