A special court at Obo Prison in Mandalay sentenced Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, the ousted chief minister of Mandalay Region, to another 21 years behind bars on Friday.
The sentence, which was related to five of 10 charges laid against him since he was detained on the day the military seized power last year, brings his total sentence to date to 26 years.
Three of the charges were in connection with bribes he was accused of accepting when he was in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2019 to receive treatment for leukaemia. He was given five years for each charge.
The two other charges were based on allegations that he had misused funds allocated for the construction of National League for Democracy (NLD) offices in Myingyan and Pyin Oo Lwin.
Khin Maung Tun, the presiding judge, handed him three years on each of these charges, a source close to the court told Myanmar Now.
Zaw Myint Maung, who is also vice-chair of the NLD, was sentenced late last year to a total of four years in prison on three charges for incitement and breaches of Covid-19 rules.
Earlier this month, he was also given one year for allegedly exercising “undue influence” to prevent eight people from voting in the 2020 election.
A decision has yet to be reached on another charge of voter fraud, punishable by up to three years in prison.
Friday’s hearing was reportedly held under tight security at a site across the road from where the prison’s special court normally convenes.
Only lawyers representing the defendant were permitted inside the court, according to Myanmar Now’s source. None were available for comment.
In late April, the junta arrested Ywet Nu Aung, a prominent lawyer who was defending Zaw Myint Aung, and later accused her of financing anti-regime armed groups.
She is currently being held in Obo Prison, where she faces a life sentence under Section 50j of the Counter-Terrorism Law.
Two of the three bribery charges against Zaw Myint Maung involve Maung Weik, a businessman who allegedly paid $100,000 for the ailing politician’s medical treatment.
After testifying against Zaw Myint Aung, Maung Weik reportedly bowed down in front of him, prompting the imprisoned chief minister to remark that he wouldn’t be spared the karmic consequences of breaking his vow to tell the truth in court.
Maung Weik was also instrumental in laying corruption charges against NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who he claimed to have given a total of more than $550,000 in cash-filled envelopes between 2018 and 2020.
According to Kyaw Htwe, a member of the NLD’s central executive committee, the regime has detained 14 senior officials from the party, including Suu Kyi and deposed President Win Myint, since last year’s coup.
At least 600 other NLD members, including more than 100 elected MPs, have also been arrested, and hundreds of NLD offices have been destroyed all over the country.
In an interview with Myanmar Now on April 27, Thein Oo, the justice minister of the shadow National Unity Government, said that the regime was using the courts to cover up its own crimes, including its illegal seizure of power.
“The coup regime has weaponised the courts, so it’s not surprising to see them handing prison sentences to politicians and rejecting their appeals. That’s why we just have to focus on overthrowing the dictatorship,” he said.
