China executes 11 people linked to Myanmar scam compounds
Among those executed were members of the "Ming family criminal group", whose activities had contributed to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to "many others", state news agency Xinhua reported.
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BEIJING: China on Thursday (Jan 29) executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including "key members" involved in telecom scam operations, state media reported.
They were sentenced to death in September by a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, Xinhua said, adding that the court also carried out the executions.
Among the executed were members of the "Ming family criminal group", whose activities had contributed to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to "many others".
Fraud compounds have flourished in Myanmar's lawless borderlands, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry.
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The centres are typically staffed by foreigners - including many Chinese - with many saying they were trafficked and forced to swindle people online.
Their crimes included "intentional homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud and casino establishment", the report said.
"The criminals' close relatives were allowed to meet with them before the execution," Xinhua added.
The death sentences had been approved by the Supreme People's Court in Beijing, which found that the evidence produced of crimes committed since 2015 was "conclusive and sufficient", Xinhua said.
Beijing has stepped up cooperation with Southeast Asian nations in recent years to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to China.
Last year, China's Public Security Ministry said more than 7,600 Chinese nationals suspected of online gambling and telecom fraud were repatriated from Myawaddy, a town on the southeastern Myanmar border with Thailand.
Experts say most of the centres are run by Chinese-led crime syndicates working with Myanmar militias.
Earlier this month, Cambodia extradited to China tycoon Chen Zhi, who the US says chairs a conglomerate that is a front for a multibillion-dollar cyberscam network.
The fraud activities and crackdowns by Beijing are closely followed in China.
The September rulings that resulted in Thursday's executions also included death sentences with two-year reprieves to five other individuals.
Another 23 suspects were given prison sentences ranging from five years to life.
In November, Chinese authorities sentenced five people to death for their involvement in scam operations in Myanmar's Kokang region.
Their crimes had led to the deaths of six Chinese nationals, according to state media reports.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime warned in April that the cyberscam industry was spreading across the world, including to South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and some Pacific Islands.
The UN has estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are working in scam centres globally.
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