A convicted paedophile who leads a Buddhist group in Melbourne has been allowed to work with children by Victoria’s child safety regulator.
San Maung Saw Wah, 73, the president of the Melbourne Karen Buddhist Association (MKBA), was convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl in his home in 2009, and was jailed for four years and eight months in 2015.
He was head of the Australian Karen Dance Association at the time he committed the offences, and a judge found his victim and her family were heavily impacted by the abuse, noting he was “in a position of trust and … seen as a grandfather figure”.
A court heard that Saw Wah and his victim were both of Burmese origin and members of the Karen ethnic group, and that he came to Australia in 2006 with his wife after spending years in a refugee camp in Thailand.
Concerns were raised about the MKBA, which hosts children as young as six during cultural programs, to then-child safety regulator the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) last year, ABC News reported.
But despite sex offenders being prohibited from engaging in child-related work or applying for a Working With Children Check in Victoria, the CCYP told Saw Wah in November that the MKBA was “likely exempt” as the not-for-profit did not, “exercise care, supervision or authority over children”.
The decision was made despite children being present in MKBA social media posts, with photos and videos showing Saw Wah interacting with children at a youth camp in 2022, sitting near children in 2023, posing with a group of children in 2024, and sitting metres away from children in October last year.
An MKBA member told the ABC children were almost always present at the organisation’s events.
“We have to have a children’s safety coordinator … someone who is taking care of the children for that day, whether it’s children’s activities, drawing, painting, running or setting up jumping castles,” they said.
“So, I don’t know why they are saying that we [are] exempt … I’m very disappointed.”
Another member whose children attended events regularly, and was “horrified” to learn about Saw Wah’s crimes, said there were widespread concerns about the president, but people were afraid to speak out due to a “culture of fear”.
“I don’t think he should be around our community,” they said.
“I feel uncomfortable. I feel unsafe.”
The CCYP has since been replaced by the Social Services Regulator, who said while he could not comment on the specific case it was a “criminal offence for an excluded person to apply for or engage in child-related work, and for employers to knowingly employ someone without a valid Working with Children Check”.
Header image: San Maung Saw Wah (Facebook).
