Aung Hlaing Oo
At 46, Aung Hlaing Oo is living the dream. Sort of. He’s rich by any measure—his business imports millions of dollars worth of goods—and he has a large, beautiful family, including three smiling daughters and two hale and hearty sons.
But his comfortable life and glossy family photos come at a high cost. His company, Myanmar Chemical & Machinery Group, brokers arms deals for the Myanmar military from Eastern Europe and China, including parts for Mi-2 and Mi-17 helicopters—like the Mi-17 helicopter the junta used in Let Yet Kone Village to attack a school and monastery, massacring at least 12 people, half of whom were children. That’s one murdered child for each of his own, plus one, in a single attack.
He also facilitates the domestic manufacture of Ukrainian-licensed tanks, self-propelled howitzers and armoured personnel carriers. Aung Hlaing Oo is sanctioned by several countries, but the Singapore branch of his conglomerate has remained operational.