An official from the Burmese regime's War Office died recently while being interrogated by the junta's military intelligence service, according to sources in Naypyidaw.
“He was arrested by military intelligence agents three weeks ago. Three days later, they informed his family that he had died during interrogation,” the source said.
“He was an army major in his early 30s who lived in Sein Pan Avenue in Naypyidaw,” the source added, referring to a residential area that is home to many senior officials from the War Office.
According to the source, the officer was arrested by Military Affairs Security (MAS), the junta's military intelligence service, on suspicion of leaking secret information about the War Office to a former senior officer living in exile.
The Irrawaddy was unable to confirm any details relating to the officer's death. Sources in Naypyidaw said that his family has since disappeared and that access to his house on Sein Pan Avenue has been blocked by local authorities.
Meanwhile, there are reports that MAS also arrested a former intelligence officer at his home two weeks ago.
The officer, Col Yan Naung Soe, served under the commander of the Rangoon Regional Military Command.
The recent arrests are the latest sign that the Burmese regime has stepped up its efforts to stem leaks from within its military command.
Earlier this year, it sentenced ex-Maj Win Naing Kyaw and Foreign Ministry official Thura Kyaw to death for revealing information about the junta's secret relations with North Korea to the exiled media.
According to military sources, the MAS has increased its surveillance of officials and non-officials from the War Office since missile expert Maj Sai Thein Win defected earlier this year with photographs and documents that served as the basis of a report revealing the regime's secret nuclear weapons program.
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