More than 300 Myanmese officers set to receive jail terms this week, as disquiet grows in the military
Hundreds of military intelligence officers who served under deposed Myanmese prime minister General Khin Nyunt are expected to be handed stiff jail terms for corruption this week, sending fresh shockwaves through the ruling armed forces.
The sentencing of more than 300 officers and some business associates has been delayed several times. It is now likely to go ahead after last week's resumption of a convention on the constitution, which has been preoccupying leaders, according to diplomatic and business sources in Myanmar.
Sentences of up to 30 years are expected to be handed down for economic crimes and corruption during secret court sessions inside Yangon's notorious Insein jail, where the defendants have been held since a crackdown on Khin Nyunt's faction in October.
'It's a form of cannibalism - the army is eating its own flesh,' a retired Burmese military officer said about the trials, orchestrated by the military junta's supreme leader, Senior General Than Shwe, and his No2, General Maung Aye.
The sentencing will be the final nail in the coffin of the country's military intelligence unit, which provided Khin Nyunt with the power base that propelled him to the leadership. The unit was disbanded and all its 30,000 members given dishonourable discharges, with those at the top thrown into jail on corruption charges.
