Myanmar military court sentences general ousted from ruling council to 5 years

A military court in Myanmar has sentenced a general who until recently was a senior member of the country’s ruling council to five years in prison for abusing his authority and taking bribes, state-run media reported Saturday.
Lt. Gen. Soe Htut, who was home affairs minister as well as a member of the ruling State Administration Council, is the latest senior officer to be jailed for corruption since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than 2 1/2 years ago.
A report in Saturday’s state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Soe Htut abused his rank and authority by directing subordinates to issue passports to companies at their request, accepted bribes and failed to ensure that financial rules and regulations were followed for the staff welfare fund of the home affairs ministry.
The newspaper described him as a former general, which means he has already been dismissed from the army.