China Executes Four Over $4 Billion Scam and Gambling Operations in Myanmar
TAIPEI, TAIWAN (AP) — Chinese authorities announced the execution of four individuals found guilty of orchestrating scams and illegal gambling activities based in Myanmar, which resulted in the deaths of six Chinese citizens. The operations were valued at over $4 billion, according to an announcement made on Monday.
The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, located in southern China, released a statement confirming the executions. However, the exact timing of these executions remains unspecified.
Just last week, the court also declared the execution of 11 additional individuals who were reportedly involved in running scam centers in Myanmar.
In November, the court sentenced five individuals, including prominent members of the Bai family, to death for their involvement in a network of scam centers and casinos. Among them was the group’s leader, Bai Suocheng, who passed away due to illness following his conviction.
The criminal group had established industrial parks within the Kokang region of Myanmar, near the Chinese border. From these locations, they allegedly managed gambling and telecommunications scam operations that included kidnappings, extortion, forced prostitution, as well as drug manufacturing and trafficking.
The operations reportedly defrauded victims of over 29 billion yuan (approximately $4.2 billion), leading to the deaths of six Chinese citizens and injuring several others, as stated by the court.
The court’s statement described the crimes as “exceptionally heinous, with particularly serious circumstances and consequences, posing a tremendous threat to society.” The Guangdong Provincial High People’s Court rejected appeals made by the defendants against their initial verdicts.
These executions are part of a larger effort by Beijing to crack down on scam operations in Southeast Asia, where such activities have proliferated to an industrial scale business. This issue is notably prevalent in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, where both trafficked and voluntary labor participate in digital scams targeting victims globally, including thousands of Chinese nationals.
Regional authorities are under increasing international pressure from China, the United States, and other countries to combat the rise of such criminal activities.
