A Chinese court has handed down death sentences and long prison terms to members of a notorious family behind major scam operations in Myanmar, marking a tough stance against cross-border crime.
This court has sentenced members of the Ming family to death for running massive scam centres in Myanmar, in what officials describe as a major crackdown on cross-border crime. In total, 39 family members were convicted in Wenzhou, with five given suspended death sentences, 11 jailed for life, and others receiving five to 24 years.
The Ming family was part of one of four powerful clans that transformed Laukkaing, a remote town on the China-Myanmar border, into a hub for gambling, fraud, drugs, and prostitution. Since 2015, their operations generated more than 10 billion yuan ($1.4bn). Chinese state media reported that the groups were also linked to worker deaths, including incidents where scam employees were shot to stop them from escaping back to China.
The Ming family ran notorious compounds, including Crouching Tiger Villa, where thousands of workers were beaten and forced into online fraud schemes that targeted victims worldwide, UN has described this phenomenon as the “scamdemic,” involving more than 100,000 trafficked workers.
Due to this, after a 2023 crackdown in Myanmar many family members were handed to China, and these sentences highlight Beijing’s determination to dismantle cross-border fraud, though operations continue in Myanmar and Cambodia.
