Post by : Raina
Al-Fahim
A Chinese court on Tuesday imposed death sentences on five senior members of the Bai family, part of a major operation targeting organised cross-border fraud and related violent crimes.
State-run outlets reported the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court convicted 21 people linked to the Bai clan and their partners on charges that included large-scale fraud, murder, serious injury and human trafficking. Those sentenced to death were identified as Bai Suocheng, his son Bai Yingcang, and associates Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang and Chen Guangyi.
Authorities also handed suspended death sentences to two others, gave five individuals life terms, and sentenced nine more to prison terms between three and twenty years.
Once a dominant force in Laukkaing on Myanmar’s border, the Bai family maintained control through an armed militia and ran 41 compounds that housed casinos, red-light districts and sprawling cyber-fraud operations. Chinese prosecutors say these facilities produced over 29 billion yuan ($4.1 billion) and were linked to at least six deaths and numerous incidents of severe abuse.
A survivor shown in a Chinese state documentary described extreme mistreatment inside those compounds, including repeated beatings, extraction of fingernails and the amputation of fingers.
The verdicts form part of Beijing’s wider campaign to dismantle criminal syndicates across Southeast Asia that have targeted Chinese nationals via online scams, illegal gambling and drug trafficking. In September 2025, a Chinese court also issued death sentences to 11 members of the Ming family from the same border region.
The rise of these clans is tied to shifts in Myanmar’s political landscape. Reports say that in the 2000s Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing tolerated and backed such groups to strengthen control after removing local warlords, allowing their power to grow until China pressed for arrests and extraditions in 2023.
Bai Suocheng was transferred to Chinese custody by Myanmar authorities in early 2024. His son Bai Yingcang has separately been convicted on charges related to trafficking and the production of about 11 tonnes of methamphetamine.
A Chinese investigator featured in a July documentary summed up Beijing’s rationale for the prosecutions:
“This is meant as a clear warning — whoever commits these grave crimes against Chinese citizens will be brought to justice, no matter where they hide,” the investigator said.
China’s action signals a reinforced effort to cut off cross-border criminal networks that exploit vulnerable workers and defraud millions, emphasizing that even powerful organised groups will face legal consequences.
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