Lo Hsing Han
Encyclopedia
Lo Hsing Han or Law Sit Han is a former Burmese drug trafficker and present-day major Burmese business tycoon, with financial ties to Singapore
. He is an ethnic Kokang
.
-trafficking career as chief of a local militia
called Ka Kwe Ye (KKY) set up with the encouragement of General Ne Win
to fight the Communists
. 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
.
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.
in 1996, runs the company which won many multimillion-dollar contracts in the construction
and energy
sectors. The Lo's also hold a 10% stake in downtown Yangon
's Traders Hotel. 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.
According to a report in The Observer
, he helped organize the opulent 2006 wedding of the daughter of the Burmese dictator Than Shwe
.
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.
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. He is an ethnic Kokang
Kokang people
The Kokang people are an ethnic group of Burma . They are Mandarin-speaking Han Chinese living in Kokang Special Region. In 1997, it was estimated that the Kokang people, together with more recently-immigrated Yunnanese, constituted 30–40 percent of Burma's ethnic Chinese population.The...
.
Rise and fall
He reportedly started his opiumOpium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
-trafficking career as chief of a local militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
called Ka Kwe Ye (KKY) set up with the encouragement of General Ne Win
Ne Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
to fight the Communists
Communist Party of Burma
The Communist Party of Burma is the oldest existing political party in Burma. The party is unrecognised by the Burmese authorities, rendering it illegal; so it operates in a clandestine manner, often associating with insurgent armies along the border of People's Republic of China...
. By the early 1970s he was an important figure in the Asian drug trade
Drug trade
Drug trade may refer to:* Illegal drug trade, the manufacture and sale of illicit psychoactive substances* Pharmaceutical industry, the manufacture and sale of medical treatment chemicals...
, before being arrested in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in August 1973 and sentenced to death for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
on the grounds of his brief association with the insurgent Shan State Army
Shan State Army
The Shan State Army, or SSA, was an army formed in 1964 to resist the military government of Burma in Shan State.It later split into two factions, usually known in English as the Shan State Army - South or SSA-S, which continues to oppose the government, and the Shan State Army - North or SSA-N,...
(SSA). He was released in the 1980 General Amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
.
Comeback
When the Kokang and WaWa State
Wa State is an unrecognised state in Myanmar and is currently subsumed under the official Wa Special Region 2 of the Northern Shan State. The administrative capital is Pangkham . The name Wa derives from an ethnic group, who speaks a language in the Austroasiatic family of languages...
insurgent
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
troops mutinied and toppled the Communist leadership
Communist Party of Burma
The Communist Party of Burma is the oldest existing political party in Burma. The party is unrecognised by the Burmese authorities, rendering it illegal; so it operates in a clandestine manner, often associating with insurgent armies along the border of People's Republic of China...
in 1989, military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
chief Khin Nyunt
Khin Nyunt
General Khin Nyunt is an officer and politician in Myanmar. Khin Nyunt is of Burmese Chinese descent. He held the office of Chief of Intelligence and was Prime Minister from 25 August 2003 until 18 October 2004. He is married to Khin Win Shwe, a medical doctor, and father to a daughter, Thin Le Le...
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
Khun Sa
Khun Sa , also known as Chang Chi-fu was a Burmese warlord. He was born in Loi Maw of Mongyai. He was also dubbed the "Opium King" due to his opium trading in the so-called Golden Triangle. He was also the leader of the Shan United Army and the Mong Tai Army.- Biography :Khun Sa was born to a...
, 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.
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 SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 1996, runs the company which won many multimillion-dollar contracts in the construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
and energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
sectors. The Lo's also hold a 10% stake in downtown Yangon
Yangon
Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...
's Traders Hotel. In the wake of Cyclone Nargis
Cyclone Nargis
Cyclone Nargis , was a strong tropical cyclone that caused the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Burma. The cyclone made landfall in Burma on Friday, May 2, 2008, causing catastrophic destruction and at least 138,000 fatalities...
, 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
International sanctions
International sanctions are actions taken by countries against others for political reasons, either unilaterally or multilaterally.There are several types of sanctions....
list of the military junta
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military regime of Burma , which seized power in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General Than Shwe signed a decree to officially dissolve the Council....
's business cronies.
According to a report in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, he helped organize the opulent 2006 wedding of the daughter of the Burmese dictator Than Shwe
Than Shwe
Senior General Than Shwe is a Burmese military leader and politician who was chairman of the State Peace and Development Council from 1992 to 2011. During the period, he held key positions of power including commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces and head of Union Solidarity and...
.
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
Kyaukpyu
Kyaukpyu is a major town in Rakhine State, in western Myanmar. It is located on the north western corner of Yanbye Island on Combermere Bay, and is 250 miles northwest of Yangon. The town is situated on a superb natural harbor which connects the rice trade between Calcutta and Yangon...
, the controversial Myitsone hydro-power plant
Myitsone Dam
The Myitsone Dam is a large dam and hydroelectric power development project currently under construction on the Irawaddy River in Burma . If completed as planned in 2017, it will be the fifteenth largest hydroelectric power station in the world...
and the TaSang hydro-power plant
TaSang Dam
The TaSang Dam is a planned multi-purpose dam on the Salween River in the Shan State, Burma. The TaSang dam’s location will be northeast of Rangoon and west of Mongtong. The TaSang Dam will be the first dam on the Salween River and will be the largest hydroelectric dam in Burma and the...
. 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
Thein Sein
Thein Sein is a Burmese politician and military figure who has been president of Myanmar since March 2011. Previously, he was Prime Minister from 2007 until 2011...
during his first official foreign visit to China after inauguration as a civilian president.
External links
- Public Works and Asia World Co Ltd sign agreement to construct Kyukok-Muse-Nanhkam road New Light of MyanmarNew Light of MyanmarThe New Light of Myanmar is a government-owned newspaper published by the Ministry of Information and based in Yangon , Myanmar....
, 7 May 2000