Ex-Myanmar president Sein Lwin dies at 81

YANGON: Former Myanmar president Sein Lwin, known as the “Butcher of Rangoon” for brutally suppressing a pro-democracy uprising in 1988, died on Friday, sources close to the family said yesterday. 

Sein Lwin, 81, died at Yangon General Hospital on Friday after his return from Singapore where had sought treatment for a stomach ailment. 

“He had been bedridden for more than a month,” a source close to the family said. 

Sein Lwin served as president for 17 days in 1988 after the resignation of junta strongman Ne Win in the face of mass demonstrations against decades of military rule. 

He was dubbed the “Butcher of Rangoon” after troops fired on demonstrators on Aug 8, 1988 in a bid to crush the uprising. – Reuters