Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Drugging, Sexually Abusing, Filming, and Selling Children

A man who allegedly drugged children with sedatives and alcohol, sexually abused them while they were unconscious, and filmed the acts to sell via Telegram has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by the district court, according to a statement from the interim government's police force. The incident began when a 11-year-old boy, Maung—, residing in Insein Township, Yangon Region, encountered a former schoolmate after school. He was then invited by his friend to visit the home of Myo Min Htun (alias Phote Thar), who lives in Phokkan Ward, Insein Township. Maung— brought his younger brother along. Upon arriving at Myo Min Htun's residence, they were told they needed to take "nutritional supplements." They were then allegedly tricked into drinking 10 sedatives each and rice wine, which they were told were sweet drinks. After being given the drugs and alcohol, and while the children were unconscious, Myo Min Htun allegedly sexually assaulted one child himself and forced the other two children to engage in sexual acts with each other, filming the videos. "This involves the illegal use of drugs, sexual assault against children against nature, and illegal filming and distribution. These acts should have been prosecuted separately under various sections of the Penal Code. The fact that it was prosecuted solely under the human trafficking law may be a questionable application of the law," a lawyer told the Irrawaddy Times. Furthermore, the children reportedly stayed overnight at Myo Min Htun's home during school holidays, and similar acts were carried out repeatedly over approximately 20 days. Videos were filmed and sold to members through a Telegram account for a fee. In connection with this incident, the Child Protection Force (Yangon) filed a complaint, leading to cases (Pa) 169/2026 and (Pa) 170/2026 being opened at the Insein Myoma Police Station under Section 35 of the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Law. The case was heard by the Insein District Court, which on July 27, sentenced the defendant Myo Min Htun to 20 years of imprisonment for each of the two cases, to be served consecutively, totaling 40 years in prison, under Section 35 of the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Law.