Thai woman jailed one year in Myanmar immigration case

A Thai woman, Pavinee Supasirivisan, has been sentenced in Yangon to one year in prison for violating Myanmar’s immigration laws in connection with the death of a U.S. diplomat, with the possibility of a separate murder trial still looming. The court, applying a provision that covers foreign nationals who commit crimes in Myanmar, set a sentence range of six months to five years. It remains unclear whether Pavinee has been formally charged with murder or whether the investigation into the diplomat’s death is ongoing. The deceased is identified by Western media as Daniel Paul Riva, a 43-year-old U.S. State Department official, though the U.S. and Myanmar have not publicly disclosed his name. Pavinee is being held at Insein Prison, and the case relates to the Sakura Residence & Hotel near the U.S. Embassy in Yangon. Police have opened the murder case under the same provision, with potential for a murder prosecution in addition to the immigration conviction.