Kayah State ex-chief minister U L Phaung Sho, municipal and social affairs ex-minister U Aung Kyaw Htay charged under anti-corruption law

The Anti-Corruption Commission inspected the complaints against Kayah State ex-chief minister U L Phaung Sho. According to the inspection, Kayah State former chief minister U L Phaung Sho and municipal and social affairs former minister U Aung Kyaw Htay transferred a government-owned land plot (authorized by the government) worth more than K65 million in 2017 with the reason of achieving religious title conferred by the government and got the land back via donation.
The Kayah State former chief minister received K11 million from the winning bidders of tenders for the construction of a two-storey building with four rooms on each floor in Loilemlay and Nangmelkhon as the general administrative department staff housing in the 2018-2019FY, LED Board and Transformer of state Sports and Physical Education Department and a two-storey staff housing with eight rooms on each floor for state Highways Department. He also took a bribe of K8.2 million from a company that won the tender of constructing the platform of Loikaw internal road in the 2019-2020FY, slab culvert and two-storey office building of the Agriculture Department.
In the 2018-2019FY, he did not follow Directive No 1/2017 of the President’s Office in inviting tender for the installation of electric lights in Kayah State government office and guesthouse and CCTV at Loikaw Airport. Therefore, it caused losses in revenue and the savings fund of the government.
Kayah State former chief minister U L Phaung Sho and municipal and social affairs former minister U Aung Kyaw Htay were charged under Section 55 of the Anti-Corruption Law at the Loikaw Myoma police station on 27 February.
According to the further inspection, U L Phaung Sho used more than K234 million out of K311 million received from the rental of 18 Kayah State-owned heavy machinery vehicles, which were bought at K1,040 million of State budget through the tender system, without registering in the departmental financial data.
Moreover, the arrangements are being made to take further action under the law for leasing Kayah State Day Ground, where Kayah State Day celebrated, to a company without inviting tender, according to the ACC. — MNA