Post by : Rameen Ariff

In a major move against transnational fraud, a Shenzhen court has imposed death sentences on five senior figures of Myanmar’s Bai family, part of a wider effort by Beijing to dismantle lucrative scam networks that have targeted thousands.

State media report that the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court found 21 members and associates of the Bai family guilty of offences including fraud, homicide, grievous injury and trafficking. Those given death sentences include Bai Suocheng, his son Bai Yingcang, and associates Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi.

Two defendants were handed suspended death penalties, five received life terms, and nine others were sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to twenty years.

Once a dominant force in Laukkaing near the China-Myanmar border, the Bai family used a private militia to control large swathes of territory. Their network of 41 compounds ran casinos, red-light districts and extensive cyber-fraud centres that investigators say generated more than 29 billion yuan ($4.1 billion). Authorities link the operations to at least six deaths and numerous reports of brutal mistreatment, including torture of trafficked workers.

A survivor interviewed in a Chinese state documentary described severe abuse inside the Bai-run compounds, citing beatings, torn fingernails and even amputations.

The verdicts form part of Beijing’s broader campaign to break criminal syndicates operating across Southeast Asia that exploit Chinese citizens through online fraud, drug trafficking and illegal gambling. In September 2025, another Shenzhen court sentenced 11 members of the Ming family, a separate Laukkaing clan, to death.

The emergence of these groups is tied to shifts in Myanmar’s political landscape. During the 2000s, Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing reportedly empowered such networks to assert control over border areas after sidelining local warlords. Their influence largely persisted until China stepped up pressure in 2023, requesting arrests and extraditions.

Bai Suocheng was extradited to China by Myanmar authorities in early 2024. His son, Bai Yingcang, was separately convicted on charges related to trafficking and the production of some 11 tonnes of methamphetamine.

“It’s a warning — no matter who you are or where you are, if you commit such heinous crimes against the Chinese people, you will face justice,” a Chinese investigator said in a July state documentary.

The sentences underline Beijing’s determination to suppress cross-border criminal networks that exploit vulnerable workers and defraud millions, sending a clear signal that even entrenched syndicates can be pursued and punished.

#Global