Bago Region ex-chief minister U Win Thein charged under Section 55 of Anti-Corruption Law gets sentence

The Anti-Corruption Commission inspected the complaints against Bago Region ex-chief minister U Win Thein.
According to the inspection, Bago Region former chief minister U Win Thein used more than K239 million contributed by business people and companies to the country for his own sakes and party without following the financial procedures on Regional Development Fund issued by Notification 58/2019. He received K10 million from a private company to facilitate the work processes on land areas returned by the military in Bago. He did not add a K20 million donation by a private company chairman for COVID-19 preventive measures on donation lists. He took K5 million from a business person in early September 2020. A company chairman gave him a car as a bribe in October 2020 for receiving 200 acres of land use permits out of 400 acres in Bago Region.
The ex-Chief Minister U Win Thein neglected the objections of the Union Government, Ministry of Construction and Region Hluttaw and organized Bago Region Construction Control Authority (BRCCA) and allowed the association to use land in government compound, building, office materials, water/electricity and vehicles for free and accepted more than K1,136 million which was two per cent of the permitted budget, an inspection fee for local construction projects, in the bank account of the association. Of these amounts, he failed to inspect cutting 0.3 per cent as service charges. Therefore, he managed illegal opportunities for his BRCCA/BRCB(T).
Moreover, regarding the installation of lamp-posts using surplus funds in four budget years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, he did not call tender as per the procedure of the President’s Office Directive No 1/2017 and permitted 15 projects worth about K2,000 million to only one company. Therefore, it caused losses in the tender surplus fund for the State budget and he was prosecuted under Section 55 of Anti-corruption Law at Bago Region High Court on 8 July 2021 and it accepted seven cases from case No 1/2021 to 7/2021.
He was found guilty and Bago Region High Court sentenced him to 20 years in prison with hard labour under seven cases – three years imprisonment for each case 1/2021, 2/2021, 3/2021, 4/2021, 5/2021 and 7/2021and three years imprisonment for case 6/2021. — MNA