Myanmar court sentences Japanese executive to a year in prison for violating rice price control (updated)
12/08/2024 13:36
(Adds Aeon comment, background)
TOKYO, Aug 12 (Reuters) - A Myanmar court on Monday
sentenced a Japanese executive from the local unit of
supermarket chain operator Aeon Co 8267.T to one year in
prison for violating rice price controls, Kyodo news agency
reported, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.
A spokesperson at the Japanese retail giant confirmed the
duration of imprisonment for the official, who worked as head of
the products division at the Myanmar unit, but declined to
comment on specific charges.
Myanmar arrested four executives of supermarket chains,
including an official of a Japanese joint venture, for selling
rice at inflated prices, the country's state media said last
month.
The impoverished Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil
since its military deposed an elected civilian government in
February 2021, sparking widespread protests that have morphed
into nationwide armed resistance.
"We will keep on doing our utmost for an early release," the
Aeon spokesperson told Reuters by phone.
Myanmar's junta periodically grants amnesties to prisoners.
In 2022, Japanese documentary filmmaker Toru Kubota was
arrested at a protest in Myanmar and sentenced to 10 years for
violating sedition and communications laws, but was released
later that year in a mass amnesty.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Bernadette Baum and
Alex Richardson)
((kiyoshi.takenaka@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 4563 2788;))