4 officials found guilty of forced labour Myanmar

Residents in Kawhmu township outside the capital filed the complaints against the four village-level officials last year, accusing them of forcing villagers to help build a road, said Richard Horsey, the International Labor Organisation liaison officer here.

The trials ran for more than six months, and on Monday the court found the four officials guilty and gave them each eight-month sentences. One was found guilty on two counts and was ordered to service two consecutive eight-month sentences, Horsey said.

"This is the first time. Never has anyone in this country been found guilty and given a prison sentence for forced labor," he said.