China court sentences 11 members of Myanmar-based crime syndicate to death

BANGKOK (AP) — A court in China sentenced 11 people to death on Monday for their roles in a family-run crime syndicate accused of running illegal gambling and scam operations worth more than $1.4 billion and for the deaths of disobedient workers.

The Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Ming Guoping, Ming Zhenzhen, Zhou Weichang — all members of a powerful family in Kokkang, Myanmar — to death along with eight others, according to a court statement.

The court also handed death sentences suspended for two years to five others, while a further 12 defendants received jail sentences of between five and 24 years. Two-year suspended death sentences are often converted to life in prison.

China issued arrest warrants for members of the Ming family in November 2023 on suspicion of fraud, murder and illegal detention as part of a crackdown on illegal scam operations near the border with Myanmar.

The syndicate’s crimes resulted in the deaths of 10 workers and injuries to two others who tried to escape the scam centers it ran, the court statement said.

The centers, in which criminals run sophisticated online scams targeting people all over the world, have proliferated in countries in Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. They often use trafficked workers who are forced to conduct romance-based investment scams as part of a globalized industry that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates is worth $40 billion annually.

China is cracking down on scam centers in the region through joint operations or coordinating with local police forces. In February, China, Myanmar and Thailand exerted pressure on scam centers located along the Thai-Myanmar border, resulting in the release of more than 7,000 workers, most of whom were Chinese citizens.