Thai woman receives one-year term for immigration breach amid US diplomat murder probe

In Yangon’s Kamayut township, a court sentenced Thai national Pavinee Supasirivisan to one year behind bars for breaching Myanmar’s immigration statutes after she was linked to the killing of her ex-husband, a U.S. diplomat. The victim, identified by media outlets as 43-year-old Daniel Paul Riva, a State Department assistant regional security officer, was discovered with fatal stab wounds on May 11 at the Sakura Residence & Hotel, a venue frequented by diplomats.

Police opened a murder investigation that could result in a sentence from ten years to the death penalty, though it is not clear if formal murder charges have been filed. The immigration and population department of Kamayut confirmed the sentence but provided no further details, and both the Thai Embassy in Yangon and the U.S. State Department declined to comment. The case unfolds against the backdrop of Myanmar’s military-backed government, which tightly controls information and has been in conflict since seizing power in 2021.