Woman Demonstrator In Myanmar Who Was Shot In The Head Was Declared Brain Dead

Myanmar police during anti-military demonstrations. (Twitter / @ NyeinKyawKhant)

JAKARTA - Ma Mya Thwet Thwet Khine, a student (20) who was shot at the anti-Junta military demonstration last Tuesday, was declared brain dead.

Video footage that went viral on Facebook shows that she did not attempt to get past the police barricades at the scene. She collapsed suddenly after being hit in the head by a bullet while taking cover from the water cannon below the bus stop.

"The bullets that hit her were live bullets, not rubber bullets. The bullets penetrated the motorcycle helmet she was wearing and lodged in her head, said a doctor from the medical team in Naypyitaw Hospital who asked not to be named to The Irrawaddy.

"She's brain dead. The bullet lodged in her head is still there, it cannot be removed", added the doctor.

The team of doctors who treated her called Ma Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing did not have a chance to recover, because she was kept alive with the help of artificial life. She is currently in the intensive care unit at the hospital in Naypyitaw.

The Myanmar military reportedly requested that Ma Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing be transferred to their facility, but doctors at Naypyitaw hospital refused, and take the patient in their care.

Ma Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing is believed to have been a target in the crowd when she was wearing a red shirt. Red is the color of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the ousted ruling party led by detained State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

One of her close friends said that before she was shot, they planned to celebrate her 21st birthday on Thursday. She is also preparing to take the matriculation exam again, after her school, which is currently closed due to COVID-19, has reopened.

Another demonstrator who was shot in the chest was also hospitalized. At least four other people were also injured by gunfire during the crackdown.