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One Chinese judicial body has sentenced several prominent individuals of a notorious Myanmar organized crime group to capital punishment as Beijing maintains its campaign on scam operations in South East Asia.

Altogether, twenty-one Bai family members and associates were convicted of fraud, murder, injury and other offenses, stated a state media report posted on the judicial portal.

The family is one of a small number of mafias that rose to power in the 2000s and changed the poor isolated region of the town into a lucrative center of casinos and red-light districts.

In recent years they pivoted to scams in which many of illegally moved workers, many of them from China, are ensnared, mistreated and forced to scam others in unlawful activities worth huge sums.

Details of the Sentencing

Mafia boss Bai Suocheng and his son Bai Yingcang were included in the group of men sentenced to execution by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Yang Liqiang, A third figure and A fourth person were the additional punished.

Two individuals of the clan syndicate were handed conditional death penalties. Several were given to life imprisonment, while nine others were received jail terms varying from three to 20 years.

The clan, who led their own private army, created 41 bases to host their digital scam operations and gambling houses, officials said.

Magnitude of Illegal Schemes

These unlawful activities included over 29 billion Chinese yuan ($4.1bn; over three billion pounds). These activities also caused the deaths of several from China nationals, the self-inflicted death of one and multiple injuries, official sources announced.

The harsh sentences issued by the judicial body are within China's effort to eliminate the vast scam networks in South East Asia - and issue a strong signal to additional criminal organizations.

Context of the Clans

Such clans became dominant in the 2000s with the assistance of a military leader - who is in charge of Myanmar's regime. The leader had wanted to support allies in Laukkaing after removing its former warlord.

Within the clans, the Bais were "the most powerful", the son before told official sources.

Back then, we was the most powerful in both the government and armed spheres," the individual said in a film about the Bai family, aired on Chinese state media in July.

During the film, a worker at one of their scam centres described the mistreatment he had suffered there: besides being beaten, he had his fingernails removed with tools and a couple of his digits amputated with a kitchen knife.

Further Allegations

The son is among those who were sentenced to death in the latest ruling. The individual has also been separately found guilty of organizing to trade and manufacture a large quantity of methamphetamine, official sources stated.

End of the Clans

Their end happened in recent times as political winds shifted.

Over a long period Chinese authorities has urged the regime to limit scam activities in the area.

Last year, the law enforcement released legal actions for the key figures of these families.

The patriarch, the Bai family's head, was among the warlords who were extradited to China from the country in early 2024.

For what reason is the state making such extensive work to target the clans?" a expert said in the summer film.

"It's to warn individuals, no matter your identity, your location, as long as you engage in these serious offenses against the Chinese people, you will face consequences."