China sentences 16 Myanmar-linked gang members to death

Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar’s lawless borderlands, staffed by foreigners — many of them Chinese — who say they were trafficked and forced to swindle people online, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry. — Reuters pic

BEIJING, Sept 29 — A Chinese court sentenced to death today 16 members of a family-run criminal gang that established deadly scam centres in Myanmar’s Kokang region on the border with China, among other crimes.

Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar’s lawless borderlands, staffed by foreigners—many of them Chinese—who say they were trafficked and forced to swindle people online, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry.

Beijing has stepped up cooperation with Southeast Asian nations in recent months to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to China.

The Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court said today that a family-run criminal organisation had engaged in cyber fraud, drug trafficking, organising prostitution, setting up casinos, and other crimes from 2015.

The court said the group had killed 14 people, including 10 involved in fraud who had tried to escape from the group or disobeyed its management.

It cited one incident in October 2023, when the accused “opened fire” on people at a scam compound to prevent them from being transferred back to China.

The group’s criminal activities helped them make more than 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), the court said in a statement posted on social media.

Five of those sentenced to death were granted a two-year reprieve, while another 23 suspects were given prison sentences ranging from five years to life. — AFP