Zaw Htay, the spokesman for the President's Office of the NLD-led government and a former military officer, suddenly passed away at around 9 am on 23 May, according to sources close to him.

'A member of his family said he had high blood pressure and [had suffered a] cerebral haemorrhage”, said a source close to his family. The source added that he heard that Zaw Htay also had a heart attack.

Zaw Htay was taken to a 1,000-bed hospital in Nay Pyi Taw after suffering a heart attack this morning, but died on the way, junta spokesman Gen. Zaw Min Tun told local news outlets.

Zaw Htay was a graduate of Myanmar’s Defence Services Academy and had worked as a spokesman for the President's Office and the Director General of the State Counsellor’s Office since 2016.

“He collapsed when he woke up this morning. He was rushed to hospital by his colleagues, but he died on the way. I think it was because of a heart attack ,” wrote Hla Maung Shwe, a senior advisor to the Myanmar Peace Center, on his social media page.

Zaw Htay was arrested by the junta during the military coup last year, but was released soon after.