A local media source is reporting that on 23 May Military Council forces arrested Wai Hun Aung, a well-known local social influencer and philanthropist together with his team on the way to Ponnagyun Township in Rakhine State where they were planning to assist and deliver emergency aid to local people affected by Cyclone Mocha.

Western News reports that a group led by military forces stopped the car carrying emergency relief supplies moving on the Sittwe-Ponnagyun Road near Ah Myint Kyun Village in Sittwe Township, citing a local resident.

Five people, including Wai Hun Aung, who were in the car, were arrested on the morning of 23 May.

The Western News report was supplied by the Rakhine Communication Hub that is updating news on the cyclone and its aftermath.

The arrests were made by a team from military security affairs, which is leading the interrogation and commonly referred to by its Burmese acronym Sa Ya Pa, a branch of the Myanmar armed forces tasked with intelligence gathering. However, further details on those arrested alongside Wai Hun Aung have not yet been separately confirmed by Western News.

The report says that the charity group led by Wai Hun Aung has visited many villages in Rathedaung Township that were damaged by Cyclone Mocha and is also conducting relief work, as well as providing emergency aid to the affected population in other Rakhine townships.

A major relief effort is underway in Rakhine in the wake of Cyclone Mocha involving local NGOs, INGOs and junta authorities to provide aid to those in need.