Beijing [China], February 3 (HBTV): China has carried out further executions of individuals convicted in connection with large-scale scam operations run from Myanmar, as part of a broader campaign to dismantle transnational fraud networks accused of targeting victims worldwide.
The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court in southern China announced on Monday that four individuals convicted of operating scam and gambling networks linked to the deaths of six Chinese citizens had been executed.
According to the court, the defendants were involved in criminal schemes based in Myanmar’s Kokang region near the Chinese border. The operations reportedly combined gambling, telecom fraud, abductions, extortion, forced prostitution, and drug production and trafficking.
The executions stemmed from convictions handed down in November, when five members of the so-called ‘Bai family criminal group’ were sentenced to death. However, the group’s leader, Bai Suocheng, died of illness before his sentence could be carried out.
The court stated that the scam networks defrauded victims of more than 29 billion yuan, or approximately $4.2 billion, and caused injuries to several individuals in addition to the confirmed deaths. It described the crimes as ‘exceptionally heinous, with particularly serious circumstances and consequences, posing a tremendous threat to society’.
The executions mark the latest step in a series of stringent measures taken by Chinese authorities against cross-border scam syndicates. Last week, the Supreme People’s Court approved the execution of 11 individuals connected to similar telecom fraud operations linked to criminal groups operating from Myanmar.
Beijing’s campaign reflects growing concern over the spread of large scam compounds in Southeast Asia, particularly in border regions of Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. These centres have reportedly recruited thousands of workers, some voluntarily and others through trafficking, to carry out digital scams targeting people globally, including Chinese nationals.
The intensified crackdown comes amid rising international pressure on Southeast Asian governments to address the proliferation of scam parks and fraud networks. China has stepped up cooperation with neighbouring countries to repatriate suspects and shut down facilities used for large-scale fraud, aiming to protect its citizens and disrupt illicit networks.
Meanwhile, Myanmar’s military government, long criticised for allegedly turning a blind eye to illegal scam operations within its territory, has highlighted its own raids on notorious sites such as KK Park.
(ANI)