IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Myanmar

153 Chinese get life sentences

A Myanmar court sentenced 153 Chinese citizens to life imprisonment after finding them guilty of illegal logging in the northern state of Kachin, Thailand's The Nation reported on Wednesday. The Myitkyina Township Court also sentenced two juveniles to 10 years, according to a senior police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity. They were all arrested in January during a military crackdown on illegal logging and timber trading. They had already been sentenced in late April to six months in prison for entering the country illegally. Myanmar banned the export of teak logs in April to reduce deforestation, but illegal logging is still rampant.