A Coquitlam family seeking justice in the death of their brother at the hands of police will soon have some answers.
The BC Coroners Service has called for an inquest into the Aug. 11, 2019, death of Kyaw Naing Maung in Maple Ridge.
The inquest will begin on Feb. 28, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. at the coroners’ court in Burnaby; members of the public can view the proceedings in-person (seating is limited) or via livestream.
The death of Maung, 54, was reported to the BC Coroners Service on Aug. 11, 2019, following a police-involved incident in Maple Ridge.
Under Section 18(2) of the Coroners Act, inquests are mandatory when a person dies while detained by, or in the custody of, a peace officer.
However, the family had wanted officers involved in the incident charged and went public about their case in 2020 in a press conference in Coquitlam.
At the time, the siblings of the deceased sought answers as to why their brother was killed.
Hla Myaing Din, a Coquitlam resident, told the assembled media that when the family first came to Canada from Myanmar — a country that had long been embroiled in civil conflict — they never thought one of them would die at the hands of police.
Siblings of Kyaw Naing Din explain the moments before he was killed by RCMP officers only weeks after the one-year anniversary of his death. The family called for the release of the IIO investigation from Coquitlam today. pic.twitter.com/4v01jbsUyc
— Tri-City News (@TriCityNews) August 28, 2020
But British Columbia’s independent police oversight body did not refer charges to the Crown in a decision that dismissed the family’s allegations over how RCMP officers handled evidence in the shooting death of their brother.
The investigation, carried out by the Independent Investigations Office of BC, found police were justified in their use of force in an encounter that ended when officers fired three shots into Din’s cheek, head and chest.
During their press conference in August 2020, the siblings presented photographs of their brother, showing where in his body he was shot, and said he wasn't a threat.
The investigation found officers were justified in their use of lethal force against Din as the officer who fired the shots was trying to prevent lethal injuries to himself or other officers.
But in a 2020 interview with sister Yin Yin Din, she told the Tri-City News that she disagreed with the report’s conclusions.
“We the family members are devastated,” she said. “IIO flatly denied justice to the family members.”
However, an inquest is not to find fault but to determine the chain of events, and possibly make future recommendations.
Donita Kuzma, the presiding coroner, and a jury will hear evidence from witnesses under oath to determine the facts surrounding the death. The jury will have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.
A jury must not make any finding of legal responsibility or express any conclusion of law, a press release from the coroner's office states.
An inquest is a formal process that allows public presentation of evidence relating to a death. The jury will certify the identity of the deceased and how, where, when and by what means death occurred.
To access the live stream, visit here.
