China executes four more members of Myanmar mafia family
China has executed four more members of the Burmese Bai mafia family — one of the most notorious criminal dynasties that controlled online scam centers in Myanmar. This is the second group execution carried out in China in the past week, writes the BBC.
During the trial of members of the Bai family. Screenshot from CCTV video
The Guangdong Provincial Court found 21 members of the Bai family and their associates guilty. They were charged with fraud, murder, grievous bodily harm, and other serious crimes. Last November, five people, including the clan leader Bai Suocheng, were sentenced to death, but he himself died of illness after the verdict was pronounced.
Earlier, last week, China also executed 11 members of another mafia clan — the Ming family. Both cases are part of Beijing's large-scale campaign against scam networks in Southeast Asia, which have victimized thousands of Chinese citizens.
For many years, the Bai, Ming, and other clans controlled the border town of Laukkai in Myanmar, where they operated casinos, the sex industry, and cyber-scam call centers. According to the investigation, the Bai family had its own armed units and established dozens of closed complexes where brutality prevailed — torture and beatings were commonplace. The clan's actions led to the deaths of at least six Chinese citizens and serious injuries to dozens of others.
The criminal empires began to crumble in 2023 when China expressed dissatisfaction with the position of the Myanmar authorities and effectively supported the offensive of ethnic rebels in the region. As a result, the mafia structures were liquidated, and their members were handed over to the PRC.
Experts believe that the latest executions are a signal of intimidation to other participants in scam schemes. According to UN estimates, hundreds of thousands of people in Myanmar and neighboring countries have been sold into slavery or forcibly drawn into online fraud. A significant portion of both victims and those who suffered financial losses are Chinese citizens.