Complaints against corrupt judiciary rising

“The Lower House’s Judicial, Legal Affairs, Complaints and Pleas Scrutiny Committee has received more than 10,000 complaint letters as of today [Friday]. Among these 10,000 complaint letters, 90 per cent are about the corruption of judges,” Thura Aung Ko said.

“There are many complaint letters about people who bid to win cases and over injustice. Lately, there have also been complaints against the corruption of law officers, such as changing Section 302 Section 304 from murder to manslaughter and the sections for cases that forbid the granting of bails. In some letters, the people claim injustice after judges and the police work together,” he said. According to the chairman, the committee is scrutinising the complaint letters again to ensure fairness.

In one of the drug cases brought to trial in Kamayut Township, a woman who was said to have been wrongly accused, had to pay 1.5 million kyat (Bt50,000) in order to be given a lower sentence.

A judge from Ayeyawady Region dismissed a lawsuit after the plaintiff failed to pay him a million kyat. The plaintiff submitted a complaint letter to the judiciary committee. 

In another incident, a judge from West District of Yangon Region accepted 150 million kyat as a bribe from a client, who later revealed the judge’s corruption.

This incident came up after the judge’s wife was caught on CCTV as she came to pick up the payment. 

“Most bribery cases take place in the Yangon Region, followed by Mandalay. Bribery exists in regions with good economy. The acts of handing money over to win cases and bribery are still very strong in Yangon,” Thura Aung Ko added.

“I have received many complaint letters about judges taking bribes. Since Thura Aung Ko’s committee has also received numerous complaints, he should start questioning the authorities. The parliament should submit a proposal on how to deal with these [letters]. They should also draft laws in order to prevent them,” MP Thein Nyunt said.