Thai woman in custody after American diplomat found dead in Myanmar

Bangkok: An American diplomat was found dead in Myanmar’s largest city, the US State Department said, and members of the diplomatic community in Yangon say a Thai woman has been detained by police in connection with the investigation.

American officials in Thailand and the US Embassy in Myanmar referred questions on the case to the State Department, which confirmed the “death of a US government employee” assigned to the embassy in Yangon but gave no other details.

“Out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones, we have no further information to provide at this time,” the State Department said in an emailed reply to questions from the Associated Press.

According to three people in the diplomatic community in Myanmar, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the case, the man was found dead about two weeks ago at the Sakura Residence & Hotel. The facility, with long-term rentals, is popular with diplomats, business people and other international visitors, and is located about 1.5 kilometres from the American Embassy.

They said police are treating the case as a possible homicide and have a Thai woman in custody.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is embroiled in fighting between the country’s military-led government, which ousted democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, and a disparate group of militias organised by the country’s ethnic minority groups and pro-democracy forces.

Authorities typically give little information to the media, and the duty officer answering the phone at the station responsible for the area where the Sakura hotel is located refused to comment and hung up on an AP reporter.

The manager of the Sakura hotel also declined to comment.

The Thai Embassy in Yangon and Thailand’s Foreign Ministry also refused to say whether they had provided consular support to the suspect or give any other information.