Lo Hsing Han
Lo Hsing Han or Law Sit Han (Burmese: လော်စစ်ဟန်, IPA: [lɔ̀ sɪʔ hàɴ]; simplified Chinese: 罗兴汉; traditional Chinese: 羅興漢; pinyin: Luó Xīnghàn; born 1935) is a former Burmese drug trafficker and present-day major Burmese business tycoon, with financial ties to Singapore. He is an ethnic Kokang.[1]
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[edit] Rise and fall
He reportedly started his opium-trafficking career as chief of a local militia called Ka Kwe Ye (KKY)[2] set up with the encouragement of General Ne Win to fight the Communists.[3] By the early 1970s he was an important figure in the Asian drug trade, before being arrested in Thailand in August 1973 and sentenced to death for treason on the grounds of his brief association with the insurgent Shan State Army (SSA). He was released in the 1980 General Amnesty.[3]
[edit] Comeback
When the Kokang and Wa insurgent troops mutinied and toppled the Communist leadership in 1989, military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt found in Lo a useful intermediary in quickly arranging cease-fire agreements and, in return, Lo was given lucrative business opportunities and unofficial permission to run drugs with impunity along with the mutineers. He wasted no time in rebuilding the drug empire he lost 15 years ago to Khun Sa, a rival KKY chief of Loi Maw. No fewer than 17 new heroin refineries were located within a year in Kokang State and adjacent areas.[3]
[edit] Leading entrepreneur
In June 1992, he founded the Asia World Company, allegedly as a front for his drug operations. His son, Steven Law (aka Tun Myint Naing), married to Cecilia Ng of Singapore in 1996, runs the company which won many multimillion-dollar contracts in the construction and energy sectors.[3][4] The Lo's also hold a 10% stake in downtown Yangon's Traders Hotel.[1] In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, in February 2008, the US government included Lo, his son, and daughter-in-law, along with the 10 companies they control in Singapore, in its targeted sanctions list of the military junta's business cronies.[5]
According to a report in The Observer, he helped organize the opulent 2006 wedding of the daughter of the Burmese dictator Than Shwe.[6]
Asia World Company is involved in a number of mega projects such as a Sino-Burma oil and gas pipeline project, a deep sea port at Kyaukpyu, the controversial Myitsone hydro-power plant and the TaSang hydro-power plant. Companies of the Chinese government have investments in all of them. While Steven Law oversees the business interests in Myanmar, his other sons are based in Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan doing business. Steven Law accompanied Thein Sein during his first official foreign visit to China after inauguration as a civilian president.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Anthony Davis and Bruce Hawke. "Business is Blooming". Asiaweek, January 23, 1997 Vol.24 No.3. http://www.singapore-window.org/80123awk.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- ^ Ka Kwe Ye means "defence" in Burmese, and is used as the name for regional defence forces. Smith, Martin (1991) Burma - Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity Zed Books, London, p. 221
- ^ a b c d Bertil Lintner. "The Golden Triangle Opium Trade: An Overview". Asia Pacific Media Services, March 2000. http://www.asiapacificms.com/papers/pdf/gt_opium_trade.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
- ^ "Tracking the Tycoons". The Irrawaddy, September, 2008 - Vol.16 No.9. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=14151&page=2. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
- ^ Wai Moe. "More Junta Cronies Hit By US Sanctions". The Irrawaddy, February 26, 2008. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=10567. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
- ^ Peter Beaumont and Alex Duval Smith (2007-10-07). "Drugs and astrology: how 'Bulldog' wields power". London: Guardian.co.uk, October 11, 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/burma/story/0,,2185561,00.html. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
- ^ www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21748
- "Singapore's hand in Golden Triangle" by Michael McKenna at singapore-window.org, November 23, 2005
[edit] External links
- Public Works and Asia World Co Ltd sign agreement to construct Kyukok-Muse-Nanhkam road New Light of Myanmar, 7 May 2000
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