YANGON: A leading Myanmar actor, singer and model who was on a junta celebrity wanted list for supporting protests has been jailed for three years, his legal team said on Monday.
Paing Takhon, 25 -- a star in both Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand -- had been active in the mass protests that rocked the country following the February coup, at rallies and through his massive social media following.
He was arrested during a dawn raid at his mother's home in Yangon in April, his sister said, as the junta hunted more than 100 celebrities for supporting the movement.
On Monday, he was "jailed for three years with hard labour," at a court in Yangon, his legal advisor Khin Maung Myint said.
"The family is deeply saddened about his sentence," he said, adding they were considering whether to appeal.
In February, Paing Takhon -- who had more than a million followers on Facebook and Instagram -- posted pictures of himself in a white tracksuit with a megaphone, hard hat and a white fluffy dog strapped to his chest at a protest.
"Help us stop crime against humanity," he posted on Instagram.
Paing Takhon is also famous in Thailand and has appeared in TV commercials and shows.
In January, he shaved his head and briefly joined the Buddhist monkhood, posting pictures of himself in burgundy robes.
Soon after the coup, the junta published a list of some 120 celebrities wanted for arrest.
Several are still on the run.
In May, celebrity beauty queen Htar Htar Htet posted a photo on Facebook showing her dressed in black combat fatigues and carrying an assault rifle.
"The time has come to fight back," wrote the gymnastics instructor.
SUU KYI TRIAL
Meanwhile, the junta court again postponed giving its verdict in Aung San Suu Kyi's trial for illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, a source with knowledge of the case said.
The Nobel laureate has been detained since the generals staged a coup against her government on February 1, ending the Southeast Asian country's brief period of democracy.
Nationwide protests against the putsch have been met with a bloody crackdown, with more than 1,300 people killed and over 11,000 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.
Suu Kyi, 76, was due to hear the verdict on charges she illegally imported and possessed walkie-talkies -- the latest in a catalogue of judgements in a junta court that could see her jailed for the rest of her life.
But the judge adjourned the verdict until January 10, a source with knowledge of the case said.
Earlier this month, Suu Kyi was jailed for four years for incitement against the military and breaching Covid restrictions, in a ruling that was widely condemned by the international community.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing later commuted the term to two years and said she would serve her sentence under house arrest in the capital Naypyidaw.
Suu Kyi had faced three years in prison if found guilty on the walkie-talkie charges, which stem from the early hours of the coup when soldiers and police raided her house and allegedly found her in possession of the contraband equipment.
Suu Kyi is also charged with multiple counts of corruption -- each of which is punishable by 15 years in jail -- and violating the official secrets act.
Journalists have been barred from attending the special court hearings in Naypyidaw and her lawyers were recently banned from speaking to the media. -- AFP
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