Chairman Kyaw Myint of the United Democratic Party (UDP) also known as Rose Party was arrested on September 29 as he is a fugitive charged with Section 224 of the Penal Code, President Office spokesperson Zay Htay told reporters for the Presidential Palace on September 30. 

“It (the arrest) is confirmed. Police arrested him last night. He was arrested under a police warrant because he is a fugitive,” Zaw Htay said. 

Criticism has erupted against Kyaw Myint for his shady past. He made a clarification on his party’s Facebook page on September 26 but he did not refute the accusation that he is an escaped convict. 

In his clarification, he said he participated in the peace process by working for the United Wa State Army. Complaints could be sent to police if there is evidence that he engaged in opium production, he added. 

Myanmar Now news agency reported that Kyaw Myint ran Myanmar Kyone Yeom Company. He was sentenced to nine years in prison in 1998 for violating the company's act and money laundering. After serving one year in prison, he managed to escape together with a lance corporal on duty while he was receiving treatment at Mandalay General Hospital on January 19, 1999. 

After escaping from Obo Prison in Mandalay, he sought asylum in the US and Canada. He established the UDP in 2007 and applied to the Union Election Commission (UEC) for registration. The commission granted his party registration before the 2010 general election.

According to the UEC data, UDP is among the three political parties which are fielding the largest number of parliamentary candidates for the 2020 general election. 

President Office spokesperson Zaw Htay said he had been arrested but policing work is still going on.