Wellington man facing up to two years in Burmese prison

The V Gastro bar, in an upmarket Rangoon embassy area, showed a psychedelic mock-up of the Buddha wearing DJ headphones to trail a cheap-drinks night. Photo / Thinkstock

A Wellington man facing up to two years in a Burmese prison after he allegedly insulted Buddhism only moved back to the area in October with his partner and baby daughter.

Philip Blackwood, 32 appeared in court in Yangon, Myanmar this week accused of breaching the country's Religion Act by depicting Buddha wearing headphones on a promotional poster for an event at the VGastro bar, where he is the general manager.

The bar's owner and another manager were also charged and the bar shut down after a complaint by an official from Burma's Department of Religious Affairs.

The trio will appear in court again next week. According to Myanmar law, anyone who attempts to insult, destroy or damage any religion can be punished by a maximum of two years in jail, with another two-year penalty for those who try to insult religion through the written word.

Blackwood did not respond to the Weekend Herald. He grew up in Wellington and attended Victoria University where he studied engineering.

He had lived in Yangon previously but returned to New Zealand for 12 months last year. His first child, a daughter named Sasha, was born in Wellington in August.

Today, his mother Angela Blackwood said the family "have been advised not to comment at the moment".

"We're all very upset about it," she said.

Blackwood and his partner Noemi Almo returned to Yangon to live in October.

In an interview with a local tourism website, published on December 10 but since removed, Blackwood said it felt good to be back in Yangon.

"I came back with eyes wide open; I wasn't looking specifically to getting back into hospitality but it's what I know and when this opportunity came up to run VGastro bar, I was really excited," he told Myanmore.

He said his new role required him to work nights, but that meant he had more time to spend with his family.

"Sasha is gem. Nightshift is a bit difficult but to be honest it affects my time spent with Noemi more rather than Sasha. Sasha is home (and awake) in the mornings so I can spend time with her then, which makes for a great start to the day," he said.

"Life is still great and exciting, with an infant you can still do things, some may hibernate with children but I figure, why not get out and do things when you can?"

An apology about the incident on the bar's Facebook page was slammed by locals.

"VGastro management would like to express our sincere regret if we have offended the citizens of this wonderful city," the post read.

"Our intention was never to cause offence to anyone or toward any religious group. Our ignorance is embarrassing for us..."

Local man Chris Soe described the use of Buddha as "utterly unprofessional and culturally insensitive" and "such a despicable act".