A Chinese court has sentenced five senior members of a well-known Myanmar criminal group to death as part of Beijing's ongoing campaign against scam networks in Southeast Asia.
According to state media, 21 members and associates of the Bai family were convicted of crimes including fraud, homicide and causing injury.
Five leaders, including family head Bai Suocheng and his son Bai Yingcang, received death sentences from the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court.
Two others were given suspended death sentences, five were sentenced to life imprisonment and nine received prison terms ranging from three to 20 years.
Authorities stated that the Bai family became influential in the 2000s and helped transform the town of Laukkaing into a hub for casinos and other illegal businesses.
In recent years, the group reportedly shifted its focus to large-scale scam operations that involved trafficked workers, many of whom were Chinese.
These workers were allegedly confined, abused and forced to participate in online fraud schemes.
Officials reported that the group's activities involved more than 29 billion yuan (about 4.1 billion US dollars) and led to several deaths and injuries.
Investigators said the Bai group operated its own militia and managed dozens of compounds used for cyberfraud and gambling.
State media also described cases of physical abuse suffered by workers in these compounds.
The verdicts follow other cases targeting organised crime in the same region.
In September, a Chinese court sentenced 11 members of the Ming family, another prominent clan from Laukkaing, to death.
source: Baidu
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