Dhaka: Three Arakanese who went to the Chinese border to look for work were killed by an armed group in the town of Nam Hsan in Shan State last week while they were staying at a house in the town, said a relative of one of the victims.

"They were shot dead by an armed group when they were sleeping in Ko Maung Ray's house in Nam Hsan, but it is not yet clear why they were murdered," said the relative.

The three men were from Rathidaung and Sittwe in Arakan State, and they were killed one month after they had left Arakan for the Chinese border.

"I know only Kyaw Win Kyunt, who is my relative from Zaydi Byint Village in Rathidaung Township. The other two are from Sittwe but I do not know their names or addresses," he said.

38-year-old Kyaw Win Nyunt, along with two friends from Sittwe, left for Nam Hsan in Shan State in June after their friend from the town, Maung Ray, offered them jobs in the area.

"They left for the town of Nam Hsan from Arakanese first because they were jobless at home. After they were in the town about a month, they were murdered. It is a very sorrowful event for the three Arakanese looking for jobs, which are very scarce in our state," the relative said.

According to a family source, the police station in Zaydi Byint informed Kyaw Win Kyunt's family of the murder after U Maung Ray reported the murder and transferred the bodies to the police station in Nam Hsan.

Kyaw Win Nyunt left his beloved wife and three children, two boys and one girl, who are living in Zaydi Byint Village in Rathidaung Township in Arakan State.