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A Chinese court has condemned five prominent individuals of an infamous Myanmar mafia to capital punishment as Chinese authorities persists in its efforts on fraudulent operations in South East Asia.

In all, twenty-one clan members and associates were convicted of scams, murder, assault and additional offenses, stated a official document released on the judicial portal.

This clan is among a handful of mafias that became dominant in the 2000s and converted the poor backwater town of Laukkaing into a wealthy center of gambling establishments and nightlife areas.

In recent years they pivoted to scams in which many of trafficked individuals, many of them Chinese, are caught, harmed and compelled to cheat victims in criminal operations valued at huge sums.

Specifics of the Judgment

Mafia head the patriarch and his son the younger Bai were included in the group of men sentenced to capital punishment by the court in Shenzhen. Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi were the remaining sentenced.

Two individuals of the Bai family syndicate were given conditional death penalties. Five were sentenced to permanent incarceration, while additional individuals were handed prison terms ranging from a period of 3-20 years.

This family, who controlled their own armed group, established forty-one bases to accommodate their cyberscam activities and betting establishments, government said.

Magnitude of Criminal Activities

These criminal activities entailed more than twenty-nine billion Chinese yuan ($4.1 billion; £3.1 billion). They also caused the deaths of six Chinese nationals, the suicide of an individual and numerous injuries, reports stated.

The severe sentences issued by the judicial body are a component of the Chinese campaign to eradicate the large fraud rings in Southeast Asia - and deliver a firm message to other unlawful syndicates.

Context of the Families

Such families became dominant in the recent decades with the support of a military leader - who currently heads the country's military government. The leader had wanted to support partners in Laukkaing after ousting its earlier ruler.

Among the clans, the this family were "the top", Bai Yingcang before told state media.

During that period, the clan was the leading in both the government and military circles," the individual stated in a documentary about the clan, broadcast on official channels in the summer.

During the film, a worker at one of fraud facilities recalled the abuse he had suffered there: besides being hit, he had his nails yanked out with tools and two of his digits amputated with a blade.

More Charges

The son is among those who were sentenced to death in the latest ruling. The individual has also been independently convicted of organizing to trade and produce 11 tonnes of illegal drugs, reports reported.

Decline of the Clans

Their fall happened in last year as situations changed.

For years Chinese authorities has urged the Myanmar junta to limit fraudulent operations in the area.

Last year, the authorities announced arrest warrants for the key members of such clans.

Bai Suocheng, the Bai family's head, was included in the figures who were transferred to China from Myanmar in early 2024.

"Why is the Chinese government making so much effort to go after the groups?" a Chinese investigator stated in the July film.

"It's to warn other people, regardless of who you are, your location, as long as you carry out such heinous crimes against the Chinese people, you will face consequences."