🔗 Share this article

A Chinese court has condemned five leading members of a notorious Burmese organized crime group to capital punishment as Beijing maintains its efforts on scam activities in Southeast Asian region.

Altogether, 21 clan individuals and collaborators were convicted of fraud, murder, assault and other offenses, said a state media document posted on the judicial website.

The family is one of a handful of organized crime groups that rose to power in the 2000s and transformed the impoverished isolated region of Laukkaing into a wealthy hub of gambling establishments and entertainment zones.

In recent years they turned to illegal operations in which thousands of trafficked people, many of them from China, are caught, mistreated and compelled to scam others in criminal enterprises valued at billions of dollars.

Specifics of the Sentencing

Syndicate leader Bai Suocheng and his son the younger Bai were among the several men sentenced to execution by the judicial body. Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi were the additional sentenced.

Two individuals of the clan mafia were received suspended death sentences. Five were given to permanent incarceration, while more figures were given jail sentences ranging from a period of 3-20 years.

The Bais, who controlled their own militia, established forty-one compounds to accommodate their online fraud activities and gambling houses, government said.

Scale of Illegal Activities

These criminal enterprises entailed over 29bn Chinese yuan ($4.1bn; £3.1 billion). These activities also caused the demise of several from China nationals, the self-inflicted death of an individual and numerous injuries, official sources reported.

The strict penalties delivered by the court are part of China's campaign to remove the vast scam rings in Southeast Asia - and issue a stern message to other illegal groups.

Background of the Clans

These clans gained influence in the 2000s with the support of a military leader - who currently heads Myanmar's junta. He had wanted to prop up associates in Laukkaing after removing its former ruler.

Among the clans, the this family were "the most powerful", Bai Yingcang previously told state media.

During that period, we was the most powerful in both the political and armed spheres," the individual remarked in a documentary about the clan, broadcast on Chinese state media in the summer.

Within that report, a individual at one of fraud facilities described the abuse he had endured at the location: in addition to being hit, he had his nails removed with pliers and a couple of his fingers cut off with a tool.

More Charges

The son is included in those who were sentenced to execution recently. The individual has also been independently found guilty of organizing to trade and produce a large quantity of methamphetamine, official sources announced.

Decline of the Families

Their end came in recent times as situations shifted.

Over a long period Beijing has pressed the local government to control scam schemes in Laukkaing.

Recently, the Chinese police issued arrest warrants for the leading members of these families.

Bai Suocheng, the clan's head, was among the figures who were extradited to China from Myanmar in the beginning of the year.

"Why is the state making such extensive work to pursue the groups?" a official said in the summer documentary.

"It's to warn other people, regardless of your position, where you are, if you commit these serious crimes affecting the nationals, you will pay the price."