Update | Myanmar court slaps prison sentences on eight Chinese militants accused of murder

A court in Myanmar has sentenced eight Chinese nationals to lengthy prison terms for transporting an arsenal of firearms and hand grenades while they lived in the country illegally.

The eight men were found guilty of unspecified charges, the Yangon-based publication Weekly Eleven said on its website on Wednesday.

Seven of the men were sentenced to 13 years of hard labour and one was sentenced to 10 years, the report said, citing the Crime Investigation Department, a special police department handling such crimes.

The eight Chinese carried eight pistols, 1,860 rounds of ammunition, 31 grenades, three military knives, bulletproof vests and a telescope, when they were arrested on April 25 in Tamu, near Myanmar’s border with India.

Insurgency groups from India have travelled through Tamu, The Irrawaddy magazine reported. Citing unnamed local government officials, it said this marked the first time armed Chinese had been arrested there.