A Mandalay judge has filed a defamation lawsuit against singer Ma Khaing, also known as Ta Tha Tha, after she posted a video on Facebook in which she insults another judge and accuses her of accepting bribes.
Ma Khaing posted the video last Friday, just after Mandalay district court judge Daw Khin Hla Kyi ruled against her in suit she filed in 2015 against her ex-son-in-law. Ma Khaing alleges that after she and several of her relatives were imprisoned for a year in 2014 over an electricity bill dispute, her ex-son-in-law Win San and local police chief Soe Aung illegally seized K43 billion (US$32 million) worth of her family’s property.
Judge Khin Hla Kyi threw out Ma Khaing’s case last week, saying she had failed to bring any concrete evidence or witness testimony to support her case. However, in the video, Ma Khaing accuses the judge of having accepted a bribe in exchange for ignoring crucial evidence.
She also criticizes State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi for her failure to live up to her commitments about strengthening the rule of law, says she has been forced to rely on donations to survive now that all of her assets have been seized, and says she would rather sit with prostitutes than judges.
“What she posted on Facebook was so harsh; she is not only insulting and defaming the court but also creating a misunderstanding over the judicial system by posting the video, which was widely shared among Facebook users,” said judge Khin Hla Kyi said at a press conference yesterday.
Another Mandalay judge named Win Zaw Oo has filed the lawsuit against Ma Khaing her under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law – a notorious law whose use as a censorship tool has escalated under the NLD government. All 66(d) cases brought over the last two years have resulted in convictions and prison time, despite the fact that judges can cap the penalty at a fine.
Ma Khaing’s video has been viewed more than 1.8 million times. She says she plans to bring her lawsuit against her ex-brother-in-law to a higher court.
Mandalay Region judicial authorities say they intend to prosecute all actions that defame or “create misunderstandings” about the judicial system.
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