Mizzima: The communal violence in Mandalay early this month in which two people died began after a fabricated claim by a woman that she had been raped, state media has reported.
A police investigation found that the Buddhist woman was paid to make false rape claims against two Muslim brothers, AFP news agency quoted the state-controlled New Light of Myanmar as reporting on July 20.
The violence in Myanmar's second-biggest city erupted on July 1 after the fabrication was published on social media, including on the Facebook page of the Venerable U Wirathu, and a mob converged on a tea shop run by two Muslim brothers whom the woman had falsely accused of rape.
In the ensuing days of violence, which resulted in a curfew being imposed in Mandalay, two men ? a Buddhist and a Muslim ? were killed, more than 20 people were wounded and buildings and cars were destroyed or damaged.
AFP said the July 20 report in the New Light of Myanmar cited the Ministry of Home Affairs as saying that a medical examination of the woman, named as Phyu Phyu Min, found "no sign of rape or other violence".
"After a detailed investigation she confessed that she accused the two men because she was paid" to do so by two other people who apparently had a personal dispute with the tea shop owners, the report said.
It said the woman, and one of men alleged to have paid her to fabricate the story, had been arrested.
http://mizzima.com/mizzima-news/myanmar/item/11833-rape-claim-that-sparked-mandalay-unrest-was-fabricated-says-state-media
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