Myanmar charges Reuters reporters with illegally obtaining state secrets
Yangon, July 9 : A Myanmar court on Monday charged two Reuters reporters with breaching a colonial-era law and illegally obtaining state secrets, according to the news agency.
The court approved the plea of the prosecutors to press charges against journalists Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, who pleaded not guilty, reports Efe news.
Speaking outside the court in Yangon to members of the media, Wa Lone said: "We just (do) investigative reporting about violation of human rights and corruption in Rakhine state, according to our journalism ethic. We will continue this and face the court. We write from the all different angles. If the police perpetrated injustice, we have to investigated and write."
Dozens of people were outside the court including foreign embassy representatives and the wives of the two journalists.
The court had dismissed the reporters' pleas and the pair could be sentenced to up to 14 years in jail under the Official Secrets Act.
The decision comes after a witness testified during a preliminary hearing that the two journalists were trapped by security forces, who promised the journalists access to confidential documents about a controversial army offensive in the Rakhine state.
The two reporters were working on an investigative article on the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in a village in Rakhine.
The killings were part of a military operation Myanmar launched last year against the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority in Myanmar, following a series of attacks by Rohingya rebels on government posts in the region.
The offensive has led to the exodus of 700,000 Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh, where they have been living in overcrowded camps.
According to Doctors Without Borders, at least 6,700 Rohingyas were killed during the offensive.
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Mangaluru man duped of Rs 10.55 lakh in Instagram ‘digital gold’ investment scam
Mangaluru: A 57-year-old man has allegedly been cheated of Rs 10.55 lakh by online fraudsters who lured him into investing in a so-called digital gold trading platform through Instagram, Deccan Herald reported on Tuesday.
According to the complaint, the victim was browsing Instagram at his residence on November 12, 2025, when he received a message from an account named “Suhani Patel.” The accused initiated a friendly conversation and later persuaded him to invest in the “digital gold market,” promising high returns.
The accused subsequently shared a mobile number and sent a link via WhatsApp, asking the complainant to install an application called “Kanak Daam Exchange.” Following the instructions, the victim downloaded the app and registered.
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The accused told the complainant that all transactions would be handled through the app’s customer service. Following their instructions, the complainant contacted the customer service through the app and sent a message requesting US dollars in exchange for Indian rupees. He was then directed to transfer money to specific bank accounts provided by the accused.
Trusting the claims, the complainant transferred Rs 1,50,000, Rs 3,45,000 and Rs 5,60,000 in multiple transactions, amounting to a total of Rs 10,55,000.
Subsequently, the app displayed that his total investment had grown to Rs 60 lakh. However, when he attempted to withdraw the amount due to personal financial needs, the request was denied. On contacting customer service, he was informed that he would have to pay 30 per cent of the total amount as “tax” before any withdrawal could be processed.
Growing suspicious, the complainant reportedly consulted officials at Canara Bank, who advised him that it was a fraud and warned him not to transfer any more money. When he confronted the accused, the amount displayed in the app was allegedly reduced to zero, and he was blocked from further communication.
Despite further attempts to contact “Suhani Patel,” the accused allegedly continued to assure him that the lost money would be returned, before eventually blocking him.
The complainant stated that he was cheated between November 12, 2025 and February 27, 2026, and has urged police to take action against the fraudsters.
A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway.
