NEW CORRUPTION CHARGES LEVELLED AGAINST SUU KYI
YANGON: Myanmar’s military junta formally charged Aung San Suu Kyi and other officials with corruption on Thursday, one of the most serious of the seven cases against the civilian leader since her detention during the February coup.
“The anti-corruption commission has inspected corruption cases against ex-state counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” the regime’s ministry of information posted on its website. “She was found guilty of committing corruption using her rank.” Senior government officials face a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted on corruption charges.
According to the notification, the anti-corruption commission alleges it found Suu Kyi had illegally accepted $600,000 as well as gold from the former Yangon region chief minister. It also accuses her of misusing authority to lease a Yangon property as headquarters of a non-profit charity she founded in 2012, resulting in the state losing out on $3.15mn in revenue.
12 killed in plane crash
Twelve people were killed when a Myanmar military plane carrying a senior monk and several donors to a religious event crashed in a central region of the country, a junta spokesman said on Thursday.