Ex-minister convicted over pagoda, monastery row

 

Hsan Sint was convicted of breach of trust under Article 409 of thePenal Code, and of violating Article 124(A) of the Sedition Act, for using state funds to build a pagoda in his family name, and of sedition.

Two days before the verdict was announced, Thura Shwe Mann called on President Thein Sein and the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Tun Tun Oo, to “reassess” the case against former religious affairs minister Hsan Sint and free him from prison.

Thura Shwe said he sent a letter to the pair on October 15 after being inundated with requests to do so from MPs from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, opposition National League for Democracy and ethnic political parties, as well as monks and residents of Aeyeywady Region where Hsan Sint had been chief minister before being appointed religious affairs minister.

The letter from Thura Shwe to Thein Sein and Tun Tun Oo describes the charges against the minister as petty and says they should be settled on a personal level. It also says the case against the former minister – who was called a “man of the people” in a rally on his behalf in Aeyeywady Region – is damaging the image and dignity of the government.

Hsan Sint is being tried in Nay Pyi Taw for allegedly embezzling state funds as well as defaming the government. The Bureau of Special Investigation accused him of misusing Ks 10 million (US$10,000) of state funds and charged him on June 19 with breach of trust. The initial charge alleged that Hsan Sint had used government funds to pay for Buddhist ceremonies conducted under his name. Investigators acknowledged that some – but not all – of the funds had been repaid. 

The defamation charge was added on September 2. The initial charge followed a controversial raid of a monastery on June 10, raising concerns that it was politically motivated.

The sedition charge was widely speculated that it was connected to his opposition to a police raid on Yangon's Mahasantisukha Monastery on June 10, which saw five monks arrested. The monastery and its land are disputed between the government's own Buddhist Monks Association, the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, and monks led by the popular abbot Pyinya Wuntha. Then, presidential spokesman Ye Htut said Hsan Sint was removed because he had "failed in his duties."

“The case can damage the image and dignity of the government in this transition period,” says the letter from Thura Shwe, which was signed as well by 51 MPs from the ruling and opposition parties. The charges belittle the status of a minister as well as the president, the letter says, adding that the case should be reconsidered in a spirit of reconciliation.

MP Khine Maung Yee said MPs, monks and the people are following the case closely to determine whether the executive and judicial branches of government are listing to them.

Hsan Sint was previously chief minister of Ayeywady Region. The minister was removed from his post on June 19. The trial was kicked off weeks later, as the former minister faced closed-door trial in fragile health condition. His application for bail under grounds of ill health during the fifth session of the trial on July 30 was denied.

The prosecution completed its case on the 15th day of the trial, some time in September.