Pastor guilty of defying Myanmar's coronavirus law

A court in Myanmar on Thursday sentenced the Canadian pastor of an evangelical church to three months imprisonment after finding him guilty of violating a law intended to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Myanmar-born David Lah was charged with flouting a ban on large gatherings by holding a religious meeting in Yangon on April 7.

About 50 supporters showed up at court, Thursday.

Those standing at the courthouse entrance unfurled umbrellas to thwart the media from taking photos of him.

Lah's lawyer, Aung Kyi Win, said the court had found his client guilty of violating an article in the Natural Disaster Management Law because he failed to comply with a directive against gatherings.

A Myanmar colleague of Lah, Wai Tun, received the same sentence.

Evidence of Lah's actions came from video of the event that was posted on social media accounts controlled by him.

The video showed him appearing to violate the ban, which took effect in mid-March, on other occasions as well.