An ethnic Karen man accused of the bombing of a guesthouse in Pegu Division’s Taungoo last October, which left two dead, has been sentenced to ten years in prison with hard labour by a district court.

On 11 October, a bomb went off in Chan Myae guesthouse in Taungoo district, killing two people including a railway police officer. The incident was just one in a spate of bomb attacks. That week, explosions were felt in Rangoon, Mandalay and Sagaing cities, as well as Shan State’s Namhkam.

Saw Htun Htun, 34, an ethnic Karen resident of nearby Kyaukkyi, was sentenced under the Explosives Act by the Taungoo district court on Wednesday, said a district police officer.

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About a month after the bombing, Saw Htun Htun was detained by local police, with the assistance of the Karen National Union, and subsequently charged under the Explosives Act. Police said that he confessed during interrogation that he had left a bag containing explosives at the guesthouse because he was instructed to do so by a man named Saw Tawah, who is currently still at large.