RANGOON — A Pegu Division court sentenced Ma Sandi Myint Aung to six months in prison on Friday for sharing Facebook posts deemed insulting to the State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Pegu Township Court handed down the sentence under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law at the court hearing on Friday.
Ma Lin Lei Lei Hlaing, a Pegu local, filed a complaint on Oct. 28 of last year at No. 2 Pegu Township police station against Ma Sandi Myint Aung, a staunch supporter of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). The complaint was based on Ma Sandi Myint Aung sharing posts that were said to include foul language against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who leads the National League for Democracy government.
The police arrested her on November 29 and she was later released on bail on December 26.
The plaintiff appealed to the court in February to revoke the bail, but the move was denied.
There have been 60 lawsuit cases filed under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law as of May 24 under the new government. The case is the eleventh such sentence handed down since last year, while defendants in six more cases have been detained without bail and are on or awaiting trial, according to the Telecom-Law Research Team.
The team said there were seven such cases under former President U Thein Sein’s term and five ended in sentencing.
