A Myanmar court has sentenced the builder of a condominium that collapsed during last year’s devastating earthquake to five years in prison with hard labour, after finding him guilty of causing death by negligence. The 7.7‑magnitude quake struck in March 2025, killing at least 2,700 people nationwide and compounding the country’s turmoil as it continued to reel from civil war following the 2021 military coup. The Sky Villa condominium in Mandalay was the deadliest single site, where portions of the mid‑rise pancaked, claiming 206 lives. Recovery teams worked for months, with the last bodies retrieved in September. On 23 June, Naing Tun Lin, owner of NTL Construction, was handed the sentence, according to Eleven Media. He had initially been granted bail after being charged in February, but was later arrested when bail was withdrawn. Requests for comment from government officials, the Mandalay court and his company have so far gone unanswered. The case has drawn attention not only because of the scale of the tragedy but also due to questions over construction standards in a country where rapid urban development has often outpaced regulation. Survivors and relatives of victims have long accused builders of cutting corners, and the collapse of Sky Villa has become emblematic of wider concerns about safety and accountability. The earthquake itself was one of the deadliest natural disasters Myanmar has faced in decades, striking communities already weakened by conflict and political instability. Entire neighbourhoods were reduced to rubble, hospitals overwhelmed, and thousands left homeless. For many, the sentencing of Naing Tun Lin marks a rare instance of legal accountability in the aftermath of such a catastrophe. Yet with thousands of families still struggling to rebuild their lives, the verdict is seen as only one step towards addressing the deeper issues of safety, governance and resilience in a country scarred by both war and disaster. -2026-07-09
