China Condemns High-Profile Burmese Scam Mafia Figures to Death

A China's court has handed down death sentences to several leading figures of a notorious Burmese mafia to capital punishment as Chinese authorities maintains its efforts on fraudulent networks in the region.

Altogether, twenty-one clan individuals and collaborators were found guilty of fraud, murder, assault and other offenses, stated a official report posted on the court portal.

The group is one of a handful of syndicates that rose to power in the early 2000s and changed the impoverished isolated region of the town into a profitable hub of casinos and entertainment zones.

Recently they shifted to scams in which many of smuggled workers, several of them Chinese, are caught, abused and compelled to defraud others in criminal enterprises worth huge sums.

Information of the Sentencing

Syndicate head Bai Suocheng and his heir the younger Bai were among the several figures sentenced to capital punishment by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi were the other three sentenced.

A couple of members of the clan mafia were given suspended death sentences. Five were given to permanent incarceration, while additional individuals were handed prison terms ranging from several years to two decades.

The Bais, who led their own private army, created 41 compounds to house their digital scam schemes and betting establishments, officials reported.

Magnitude of Unlawful Operations

Such illegal operations involved over 29 billion local currency ($4.1 billion; £3.1 billion). These activities also led to the deaths of several from China nationals, the suicide of an individual and several assaults, official sources announced.

The strict penalties delivered by the judicial body are within the Chinese effort to eliminate the vast scam networks in South East Asia - and issue a strong signal to further criminal organizations.

Context of the Groups

Such families gained influence in the recent decades with the help of a military leader - who now leads Myanmar's junta. He had wanted to bolster allies in the town after replacing its earlier warlord.

Among the families, the this family were "the most powerful", Bai Yingcang before told official sources.

Back then, we was the most powerful in both the political and military arenas," the individual said in a documentary about the Bai family, aired on Chinese state media in July.

During the film, a employee at their illegal operations described the mistreatment he had experienced there: in addition to being hit, he had his nails removed with pliers and two of his digits amputated with a tool.

More Allegations

The son is included in those who were condemned to death this week. He has also been separately found guilty of planning to trade and manufacture 11 tonnes of methamphetamine, official sources reported.

End of the Families

The families' end occurred in last year as circumstances altered.

Over a long period Chinese authorities has pressed the local government to limit scam activities in the area.

Recently, the authorities issued detention orders for the most prominent individuals of such clans.

The patriarch, the clan's leader, was among the figures who were extradited to Beijing from the country in the beginning of the year.

"Why is the Chinese government making so much effort to target the groups?" a official said in the summer film.

The purpose is to caution other people, regardless of your identity, where you are, when you carry out such heinous offenses against the citizens, you will pay the price."