A Chinese court has sentenced five top members of an infamous Myanmar mafia to death as Beijing continues its crackdown on scam operations in Southeast Asia.
In all, 21 Bai family members and associates were convicted of fraud, homicide, injury, and other crimes, according to a state media report published on the court website.
The Bai family is among a handful of mafias that rose to power in the 2000s, transforming the impoverished backwater town of Laukkaing into a lucrative hub for casinos and red-light districts.
In recent years, they pivoted to scams, trapping thousands of trafficked workers—many Chinese—who endured abuse and coercion in fraudulent operations worth billions.
Mafia boss Bai Suocheng and his son Bai Yingcang were among those sentenced to death by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court; along with Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang, and Chen Guangyi.
Two other Bai family members received suspended death sentences, while five were sentenced to life imprisonment and nine received jail sentences from three to 20 years.
The Bais controlled their own militia and managed 41 compounds for their cyber-scam and gambling activities. Their criminal operations led to losses exceeding 29 billion Chinese yuan ($4.1 billion) and caused the deaths of six Chinese citizens and several injuries.
These severe penalties are part of China's broader campaign to eliminate extensive scam networks in Southeast Asia and serve as a warning to other criminal syndicates.
In September, a Chinese court sentenced another group of 11 members from the Ming family—another significant crime clan from Laukkaing—to death.
The Bai family consolidated their power in the 2000s through connections with Myanmar's military government under Min Aung Hlaing, which sought allies in Laukkaing after removing previous warlords.
Previously, Bai Yingcang characterized the Bais as the most powerful family within both political and military circles.
In a documentary aired in July, a former worker at one of their facilities detailed the grave abuses he suffered, including physical torture.
Bai Yingcang, among those sentenced to death, was separately convicted of conspiring to traffic and manufacture 11 tonnes of methamphetamine.
The families’ decline began in 2023 as political dynamics shifted. China has long urged the Myanmar junta to control scam operations in Laukkaing, culminating in arrest warrants issued for prominent family members last year.
Bai Suocheng, the patriarch, was extradited to China from Myanmar in early 2024. Authorities aim to send a clear message: heinous crimes against the Chinese people will not go unpunished.
