Shan State Chief Minister Dr Linn Htut and Planning and Finance Minister Soe Nyunt Lwin were sentenced by the military junta to 16 years imprisonment on January 28.

A local resident in Taunggyi said that the Nyaungshwe Prison Court, which is under the military junta, sentenced the Chief Minister to 16 years in prison on four counts of corruption. Planning and Finance Minister Soe Nyunt Lwin has previously been sentenced to 38 years in prison by the military junta, bringing the total to 58-year imprisonment.

According to a source close to the family, Dr. Linn Htut was arrested shortly after the military coup and family members are worried about him because he has hypertension and diabetes.

Dr Linn Htut, a former dentist, is a supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi and became a party member after retiring from his government posts in 2015.

Last August, his wife said that the charges against her husband and other NLD officials are laughable because the National League for Democracy (NLD) always made efforts to eradicate corruption.