Tin Tun (Burmese: တင်ထွန်း, pronounced [tɪ̀ɰ̃ tʰʊ́ɰ̃]; born 20 November 1944 in Rangoon, British Burma) is a Burmese former Olympic boxer, political dissident, and one of the pioneers of the now-extinct Scouting movement in Myanmar (then Burma).
Boxing Career
Tin Tun represented Burma at two Summer Olympics. At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, he competed as a featherweight boxer:
- Round of 32: Defeated Ronald Smith (Great Britain) by referee-stopped contest
- Round of 16: Defeated Anthony Andeh (Nigeria) by decision (4–1)
- Quarterfinal: Lost to Heinz Schulz (United German Team) by decision (0–5)
At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, he competed as a lightweight boxer:
- Round of 64: Received a bye
- Round of 32: Lost to Luis Minami (Peru) by second-round knockout
He also won a bronze medal in the bantamweight division at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta.
Scouting
Tin Tun represented the Union of Burma Boy Scouts on the five-member Far East Scout Advisory Committee (FESAC), which later evolved into the Asia-Pacific Region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Political Imprisonment
In July 1993, Tin Tun was arrested under the Publishing and Printing Act for possessing a copy of Khit Pyaing (New Era) Journal, a banned news magazine published by exiled activists. He was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment under charges related to the Emergency Provision Act and the Publishing and Printing Act. In November 1997, he was transferred from Insein Attached Jail (Special Jail) in Rangoon to Thayawaddy Prison in central Burma.
He was released early in 2004 on health grounds, due to severe coronary atherosclerosis, rather than for completing his sentence. The release was conditional, with the stipulation that he would serve the remainder of his sentence if re-arrested for political or other offenses.
Personal Life
Tin Tun's son, Phone Myint Tun, was also imprisoned as a political prisoner from 1991 to 1995 and shared a cell with his father. As of his release, Tin Tun was reported to be suffering from severe coronary atherosclerosis and had difficulty walking.
