American journalist Danny Fenster, who has been detained in Myanmar for five months, was denied bail and hit with a new charge Wednesday following a hearing inside Yangon's Insein Prison, CNN reported.

Fenster, 37, has now spent 163 days detained in Myanmar, where his family has had little contact with him.

The additional charge -— the third levelled against him — is under Section 13(1) of Myanmar's immigration act, his lawyer Than Zaw Aung told CNN Business. It makes it a crime to enter the country illegally, overstay a visa or permit, or violate the conditions of a stay. It is unclear why he has been charged with the new offense. Fenster's lawyer said hearings in his case will now take place daily.