Aung Naing Oo, a former police guard who grew close to democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi during her years under house arrest, had his prison sentence extended by five years on Wednesday, according to a court source.
The former police officer was arrested in November of last year and charged under Section 3(1)(c) of the Official Secrets Act for allegedly sharing military-related information with anti-regime forces.
He was convicted on that charge on October 13 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. With his latest conviction under Section 52a of the Counter-Terrorism Law, he now faces a total of 15 years behind bars.
“Now that he has received sentences for both of his charges, I heard he will soon be transferred to Yamethin Prison, but I don’t know the exact details yet,” a source connected to the court said.
Aung Naing Oo was assigned to keep Suu Kyi under surveillance while she was under house arrest for leading the movement against Myanmar’s former dictatorship. Despite the nature of this relationship, the police officer and pro-democracy leader came to trust each other.
Years later, when Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won the 2015 general election and became Myanmar’s ruling party, he served as deputy director of security for the President’s Office and was assigned to lead Suu Kyi’s security detail.
A source connected to the NLD party leadership told Myanmar Now in early 2022 that Aung Naing Oo’s respect for Suu Kyi had grown to the degree that he called her “Amay,” or Mother.
When he was arrested, he was accused of sharing information with 88 Generation student leader Ko Jimmy, who was one of four activists executed by the regime in July.
Two other Suu Kyi associates also received prison sentences on Wednesday.
Min Thu, the NLD’s former minister of the Union Government Office, and Ye Min Oo, the ousted deputy mayor of Naypyidaw, received 18 months and two years, respectively, under Section 409 of the Penal Code.
Section 409 is concerned with the “criminal breach of trust by a public servant, or by a banker, merchant, or agent,” but the reasons Min Thu and Ye Min Oo were charged under this section remain unclear.
