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A China's court has handed down death sentences to several prominent figures of a notorious Myanmar organized crime group to capital punishment as Beijing persists in its campaign on fraudulent activities in South East Asia.

Altogether, twenty-one Bai family figures and partners were convicted of fraud, homicide, assault and various offenses, reported a state media document published on the judicial website.

The group is one of a few of syndicates that became dominant in the early 2000s and changed the poor backwater town of Laukkaing into a profitable base of casinos and red-light districts.

Recently they turned to illegal operations in which thousands of illegally moved workers, a large number of them from China, are trapped, harmed and forced to cheat targets in illegal enterprises valued at billions.

Details of the Sentencing

Syndicate boss the patriarch and his heir the younger Bai were included in the five men condemned to capital punishment by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, Hu Xiaojiang and A fourth person were the remaining convicted.

Two individuals of the Bai family syndicate were given suspended death sentences. Several were condemned to life imprisonment, while nine others were handed jail sentences ranging from several years to two decades.

This family, who led their own armed group, established forty-one bases to host their online fraud operations and gambling houses, authorities stated.

Scale of Criminal Schemes

These unlawful enterprises involved exceeding 29 billion yuan (over four billion dollars; £3.1 billion). They also led to the fatalities of six Chinese citizens, the suicide of one and multiple harm, state media stated.

The harsh punishments issued by the court are part of China's campaign to eradicate the vast scam rings in South East Asia - and issue a strong message to further unlawful organizations.

Context of the Families

These groups rose to power in the 2000s with the assistance of a military leader - who now leads Myanmar's junta. He had intended to support associates in the town after ousting its former leader.

Among the families, the this family were "absolutely number one", Bai Yingcang earlier told official sources.

"At that time, the clan was the dominant in both the political and armed spheres," he stated in a documentary about the Bai family, shown on Chinese state media in July.

During the documentary, a employee at a fraud facilities narrated the harm he had endured there: besides being assaulted, he had his fingernails yanked out with tools and two of his digits amputated with a kitchen knife.

Additional Charges

The son is among those who were given to death recently. He has additionally been separately found guilty of planning to trade and manufacture eleven tons of narcotics, official sources reported.

Decline of the Clans

The families' downfall occurred in last year as political winds altered.

For years Beijing has encouraged the regime to limit fraudulent activities in the area.

In 2023, the Chinese police released arrest warrants for the leading members of such groups.

Bai Suocheng, the Bai family's head, was among the individuals who were extradited to Beijing from Myanmar in early 2024.

"Why is the authorities putting so much effort to pursue the clans?" a expert commented in the July film.

"It's to warn other people, no matter your identity, where you are, when you carry out such terrible crimes targeting the nationals, you will pay the price."