Powah, Narinjara News, July 16, 2025  

Four high-ranking military commanders from the South Western Military Command (SWMC), which is headquartered in Pathein in the Ayeyarwady Region, have been given the death sentence and lengthy jail terms for taking bribes in exchange for allowing illegal products, such as fuels, medicines, and commodities, to enter Rakhine State.

Lieutenant Colonel Kyaw Swar Htun (death penalty), Lieutenant Colonel Myo Zaw Aung (life sentence), Colonel Aung San Lwin (20 years in jail), and Brigadier General Kyaw Soe Lwin, Chief of General Staff of the SWMC (10 years in prison), were the ones found guilty.

On July 13, 2024, they were found guilty of violating clauses of the Corruption Act by the military court martial of the military council.

An anonymous official from the Southwestern Military District said, "Their assets were confiscated and they received such harsh penalties. A few of them are still under investigation. They were given such severe punishment because they were found guilty of treason for allowing the import of essential military goods into Rakhine."

About 10 officers were detained by the military headquarters on September 7, 2024, for taking hundreds of thousands of kyats in bribes to allow the shipment of gasoline, medications, and other consumer products into Rakhine, where the AA is engaged in combat. The four officers who were found guilty of the crime were among those arrested.

The military council has imposed a strict ban on the import of fuel, household medications, food, and building supplies, such as cement, into Rakhine, where the conflict is still raging.

Following their trial by a military tribunal, four high-ranking military officials were given harsh sentences.

The Ayeyarwady Division Police Chief Aung Naing Moe, Deputy Police Chief Chit San Maung, Deputy District Police Chief Myint Aung, and Pathein Township Police Chief Ye Yan Aung have also been accused of bribery in this instance, but their posts were just suspended.