BANGKOK - Myanmar's former leader and despot, Ne Win, once asked the pilot of the aircraft in which he was travelling to circle nine times over his birthplace - nine is his lucky number.
Two years ago, on his 90th birthday, Ne Win invited 99 monks to receive alms and other donations at a hotel in the nation's capital of Yangon.It was one of the few public appearances he has made since stepping down as president in 1988.Stories about the former military general and his beliefs in astrology are well documented.
He seized power from a civilian government with a coup in 1962 and during his 26- year rule over the country which was then known as Burma, he was said to have had a chief astrologer in his government with whom he would consult before making major decisions.
The former president still practices yadaya, a form of ritual which is believed to provide protection and good fortune to its adherents.Some say it is because of the rituals that he is still alive at 92 in a country where the mortality rate is much lower.But, whatever spiritual protection his superstitious beliefs might have brought him, they appear to have come to an abrupt end.
Frail and said to be dying of a terminal disease, the former strongman turned recluse could only watch from afar in his lakeside villa as his close relatives were sentenced to death last week for treason.His son-in-law and three grandsons were found guilty of plotting to overthrow the current military government through a coup.His favourite daughter, Sandar Win, a doctor cum businesswoman, is under house arrest and could be the next to face trial.Some say the 'Old Man' himself, as he is referred by the Myanmar people, is being detained.
The country's leaders are certainly not taking any chances of his appearing in public, an indication of just how influential the former leader is still perceived to be.
Born in 1911, the man who was to become General Ne Win began his career as a postal clerk.During World War II, he joined the famous group of '30 Comrades' who were trained by the Japanese to liberate the country from British rule.After independence, he became military chief. In 1962, he led a coup against the U Nu government and later proclaimed himself the new head of state.The move was followed by 25 years of misrule which plunged the country into economic chaos.He resigned in 1988 - just before a popular uprising was ruthlessly put down by army troops apparently at his instruction.
Most people believe he held on to power through his daughter, Sandar, and his protege, General Khin Nyunt, a powerful intelligence chief.
''Sandar Win is very ambitious,' said Mr Soe Aung, a former student dissident who fled the country after the 1988 military crackdown in which scores of protesters were killed.
That, perhaps, is an understatement. Those who knew her said she was ruthless, scheming and power-hungry.Together with her husband and using the name of her father, she built a huge business empire encompassing telecommunications, hotels, trading companies and the jewellery industry.The family owns several companies in Yangon, including the Nawarat Hotel, and has a major stake in SkyLink Communications, which was given the contract to install the country's multi-million-dollar cell- phone network.
According to a source, the project had been delayed because of conflicts between Sandar Win and her partners, one of whom is accused of being a drug kingpin.Her sons, who frequented Yangon's nightclubs and discos, behaved like thugs.
Unsavoury reports about the Ne Win clan have made them into Myanmar's most-hated family.Sandar, who is in her 50s, is said to be a doting mother to her three sons, who have all been sentenced to death along with their father.
Myanmar-watchers believe it was Sandar rather than her father who was trying to carve out a dynasty.They say she was eyeing political office and was threatened by the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.