Family members of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army’s (TNLA) Shan detainee Nang Mo Hom said that they heard about the three-year sentence handed down to her through the media.

TNLA representatives said that the mother of three and native of northern Shan State’s Namkham was convicted of violating the TNLA’s Criminal Act 333 and sentenced to three years in prison on Friday. She has been in TNLA custody since August 17.

“We saw the news spread [on Monday]. We don’t know anything about her prison term. They didn’t inform us. That’s why we can not say anything about it,” one of Nang Mo Hom’s family members told SHAN. “The whole family prays for her release in good health,” they added.

According to TNLA spokesperson Maj Mai Aik Kyaw, family members were not permitted to see Nang Mo Hom on the day of her sentencing, but that he had not been told by officials from the TNLA headquarters about why this was the case.

“It’s true that our central court sentenced Nang Mo Hom to up to three years in prison on October 5,” he said. “I don’t know why her family members were not allowed to see her. Her health is good,” Maj Mai Aik Kyaw said.

Namkham locals have expressed concern about the impact of the case on interethnic relations, since Nang Mo Hom is Shan and has been detained by an ethnic Ta’ang armed group. Maj Mai Aik Kyaw said that her arrest was not ethnically motivated but because she allegedly broke the TNLA’s law.

The incident of which Nang Mo Hom is accused of involvement occurred last year. After two TNLA soldiers collected “tax” in her community, one was killed by the Burma Army and another arrested. The TNLA has said that Nang Mo Hom tipped off the government forces—an accusation that her family and community have repeatedly denied.