Reng and his brother Ting, originally from Chin State, Burma, have been apart for many years. Both were part of the LND party in Burma and persecuted for it. Ting escaped to India, where he stayed for 10 years.

Reng remained in Burma where he was forced to do unpaid hard labour by the Burmese military against his will, without pay, during which time he was abused mentally and physically and was beaten so many times that he could not continue to do forced labour. He was threatened and informed that if he did not continue the work, he would be arrested, tortured and imprisoned for disobeying military orders. Reng managed to escape to Yangon, where an agent helped him to get to Malaysia by boat.

Reng was put in detention in Malaysia for a year (despite having refugee status) for being in Malaysia illegally. After spending 5 years there, Reng was finally accepted to come to Australia and was resettled in Coffs Harbour, where he successfully sponsored his brother Ting, in India. Sanctuary provided an interest-free travel loan, which allowed him to be reunited with his brother again!