A Yangon court has sentenced two Muslim clergymen to eight years years’ in prison over a fire in a mosque dormitory a year ago that claimed the lives of 13 boys.
The court on April 24 sentenced U Zayar Phyo and U Khin Maung Aye, who had each pleaded not guilty, to six years in prison for negligence causing death and two years for negligence resulting in a fire.
Their lawyer, U OhnMaung, told the court in Yangon’s inner Botahtaung Township after the sentences were handed down that the two men would appeal.
The court was told that an overheated inverter beneath a staircase started the fire at the Swarsitiyar mosque compound, on 48th Street in central Yangon, in the early hours of April 2, 2013.
Reports at the time said fire crews arriving to battle the blaze gained entry to the dormitory after breaking down a door which had been locked from the outside.
