State media reported that the executions followed the conviction of more than 20 members and associates of the Bai family by a court in Guangdong Province.
Chinese authorities have executed four members of the notorious Bai family, one of the powerful crime dynasties that operated large-scale cyber fraud centres in Myanmar, as Beijing intensifies its crackdown on transnational scam networks.
State media reported that the executions followed the conviction of more than 20 members and associates of the Bai family by a court in Guangdong Province.
The defendants were found guilty of fraud, homicide, causing bodily injury and other serious crimes, according to BBC.
Last November, the court sentenced five members of the syndicate to death, including the family patriarch, Bai Suocheng. However, Bai Suocheng reportedly died of illness after his conviction but before the sentence could be carried out.
The latest executions come barely a week after China put to death 11 members of the Ming family mafia, another criminal clan linked to scam operations in Southeast Asia. The swift pace of executions signals Beijing’s determination to stamp out online fraud rings that have victimised millions.
For years, the Bai, Ming and other families ruled Laukkaing, a lawless border town in northern Myanmar, where they ran casinos, red-light districts and vast cyber scam operations.
Among the criminal clans, the Bais were regarded as the most powerful, with Bai Suocheng’s son once describing the family as “number one” in the region during a state media interview after his arrest.
According to Chinese authorities, the Bai family controlled its own militia and established no fewer than 41 fortified compounds housing scam centres and casinos. Inside these compounds, violence was reportedly routine, with victims subjected to beatings, torture and other forms of abuse.
The court held that the Bai family’s criminal activities directly led to the deaths of six Chinese citizens, the suicide of one individual and multiple cases of serious injury.
The rise of the Bai family dates back to the early 2000s, following a military operation that ousted Laukkaing’s former warlord. The operation was led by Min Aung Hlaing, now Myanmar’s military ruler, who allegedly sought cooperative local allies. Bai Suocheng, then a deputy to the warlord, emerged as a key partner.
However, the criminal empires collapsed in 2023 after Beijing grew frustrated with Myanmar’s failure to curb scam operations. China reportedly threw its weight behind an offensive by ethnic armed groups in the region, a move that marked a turning point in Myanmar’s ongoing civil war. The offensive led to the capture of the scam bosses, who were later handed over to Chinese authorities.
Back in China, the arrested syndicate leaders were paraded in state-produced documentaries highlighting Beijing’s resolve to dismantle scam networks and punish those responsible.
With the latest executions, analysts say China is sending a strong deterrent message to would-be scammers.
The United Nations estimates that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked into scam operations across Myanmar and other parts of Southeast Asia. Thousands of Chinese nationals are believed to be among both the victims forced to work in the scam centres and those defrauded of billions of dollars.