Doctor who once led Covid vaccine campaign sentenced to three years in prison for corruption

By DMG 21 Apr 2022

DMG Newsroom
21 April 2022, Mandalay

Myanmar’s former national immunisation director, Dr. Htar Htar Lin, was sentenced to three years in prison with hard labour on April 20 on corruption charges.

Dr. Htar Htar Lin, who had led the country’s Covid-19 immunisation campaign under the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government, was arrested on June 10, 2021, after many NLD officials went to ground in the wake of the military coup in February of that year.

“She was arrested while in hiding in [Yangon Region’s] Dagon Township after the military coup. She was sentenced after facing trial for 10 months,” said a source close to Dr. Htar Htar Lin.

Myanmar’s military regime brought charges against the director of the national immunisation programme after she reportedly returned a Covid-related vaccine grant of K168 million (US$91,000) from UNICEF and the World Health Organization in February 2021, not long after the military seized power in a coup. She was prosecuted and sentenced by the junta under Section 56 of the Anti-Corruption Law.

The junta also sentenced Dr. Soe Oo, who chaired the external aid committee responsible for overseeing the COVID-19 grant, with two years in prison and hard labour under the Anti-Corruption Law for failing to stop Dr. Htar Htar Lin from returning the grants.

A source close to the Mandalay court that sentenced the two defendants said they are in good health.

“Dr. Htar Htar Lin is due to face two more charges in the court,” the source added.

The regime has also charged Dr. Htar Htar Lin under Section 124(a) and Section 505(a) of the Penal Code.

A plethora of criminal prosecutions in the post-coup period have been widely denounced by pro-democracy and human rights groups, with Sections 124 and 505 cases seen as particularly egregious examples of political persecution.