In the case of Dr Zaw Myint Maung charged with corruption, business tycoon Maung Weik testified in court that he made three visits to him to donate cash for his medical expenses but didn’t have the chance to meet him personally, according to a source close to the court.
Maung Weik testified during the February 18 court hearing of former Mandalay Region Chief Minister Dr Zaw Myint Maung.
“Maung Weik didn’t say he had to pay for the medical costs of Dr Zaw Myint Maung. He just made donations. He didn’t have the chance to meet him personally as he slept. So he said he left the money,” said the lawyer for the cases of Dr Zaw Myint Maung.
At the trail, Maung Weik was seen putting his palms together and raising them as a gesture of paying respect to Dr Zaw Myint Maung, who urged him to tell the truth.
During the February 18 trial, three of the five cases of the ex-chief minister were heard at a special court set up in Obo Prison in Mandalay.
Dr Zaw Myint Maung has already been sentenced to two years in prison for defamation under section 505 (b) of the penal code and another two years under section 25/30 (a) of the disaster management law.
Maung Weik first accused Dr Zaw Myint Maung, who is suffering from cancer, of accepting medical costs when he was hospitalized in Thailand. But during the February 18 court hearing, Maung Weik said he paid the money as donations.
Some local media also reported that the National League for Democracy’s Health Network paid for the medical expenses of Dr Zaw Myint Maung and the air tickets for his accompanying eldest son.
On July 6 last year, the Ministry of Information reported that the former chief minister accepted a bribe of US$100,000 in three batches from a businessman engaging in some projects in Mandalay Region when he was receiving medical treatment in Thailand in 2019.
After the political changes in Myanmar, the Ministry of Information also released a video file in which Maung Weik said he offered US$550,000 personally to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. He said he gave US$100,000 in May 2018, US$150,000 in May 2019, US$50,000 in February 2020 and US$250,000 in April 2020.
Maung Weik was sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2008 for drug abuse and trafficking, and but released in 2014. After his release, he continued implementing projects under the Thein Sein government and the NLD government.
He was allowed to implement the new Amarapura city project on 2,000 acres of land with a starting capital of Ks500 billion.
At that time, Dr Zaw Myint Maung said his government permitted him to implement the project in line with the procedures and the agreement singed under the previous government. Maung Weik was appointed as chairman of Mandalay Business Capital City Development.
The project attracted criticism from Mandalay residents.
Maung Weik also made other donations in collaboration with the Mandalay Region government. One of the significant events was the seventh golden umbrella-hoisting ceremony of the Maha Wizayanthi Pagoda in Amarapura Township in 2019.
