China has executed four more members of the Bai family mafia, one of the groups behind the scam operations in Burmaas part of its ongoing crackdown, state media reported.
The four were among 21 members and associates of the Bai family convicted by a court in Guangdong province of fraud, murder, wounding and related crimes.
Five members of the group were sentenced to death last November, including the family’s patriarch, Bai Suocheng, who later died of illness following his conviction.
The executions follow the killing last week of 11 members of the Ming family mafia, another group linked to scam hubs in Myanmar, as Chinese authorities step up efforts to dismantle cross-border fraud networks in Southeast Asia.
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For years, the Bai and Ming families, along with other groups, controlled much of Laukkaing, a border town in Myanmar, where they operated scam centers, casinos and other illicit businesses.
Authorities said the Bai family ran 41 complexes used for cyber-scam activities and casinos, controlled by a private militia. The court said the group’s activities led to the deaths of six Chinese nationals, the suicide of one person and injuries to others.
The families gained influence in the early 2000s but lost control in 2023 after pressure from Beijing led to an offensive by ethnic armed groups in the area. Subsequently, the members of the fraudulent networks were captured and transferred to China.
Chinese authorities have since highlighted the cases in state media as part of efforts to deter fraudulent operations, which have trafficked hundreds of thousands of people across Southeast Asia, many of them Chinese nationals.
(BBC)
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