Aung San Suu Kyi Sentenced To Five Years In Jail On Corruption Charges

Ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to five years in prison for proven corruption charges on April 27 by a Myanmar Junta Court. The 76-year-old Nobel laureate was accused of accepting a bribe of $600,000 in cash and gold bars.

Suu Kyi was found guilty in the first of eleven corruption cases against her, an unnamed source told news media publications. This judgement was handed down by the judge in Naypyitaw, which is the capital city of Myanmar, within moments of the court convening on the matter.

Other than the corruption charges, she has also been found guilty by the court of importing and possessing walkie-talkies, as well as violation of coronavirus restrictions. Suu Kyi led Myanmar for five years before she was forced to step down after a coup in 2021. Since then, she has been charged with 18 offences at least, which amount to 190 years of jail terms, if found guilty.

Recently, after extending Suu Kyi's sentence several times, a Myanmar military court sentenced Suu Kyi to seven additional years in prison, increasing her overall jail time to 33 years.

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Aung San Suu Kyi Corruption Charges

The corruption case in which she received five years of jail term is on the basis of accusations that the former leader of Myanmar accepted 11.4 kilograms of gold and cash which totals up to $600,000 from the former Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein. She had denied the allegations against her and called them absurd.

Other Charges Against Aung San Suu Kyi

Suu Kyi has already been sentenced to two years in prison under the Export-Import Law for importing walkie-talkies. Moreover, she was also sentenced to one year extra for possessing them.

The court also sentenced her to two more years of imprisonment for violating the rules during the coronavirus pandemic and holding campaigns regardless.

The military alleged that in 2020 Suu Kyi's political party National League For Democracy won the general elections through fraud. This was one of the reasons cited for the coup. Post which, she and her party members were detained. Suu Kyi will remain under house arrest till she faces prosecution for other charges against her name.