China: A court in southeastern China has sentenced three members of a criminal syndicate to death for operating scam centres in Myanmar, as Beijing intensifies its crackdown on organised cybercrime networks operating across Southeast Asia.
The Quanzhou Intermediate People’s Court in Fujian province handed down the sentences to Wei Huairen, Chen Dawei and Liao Jingfang for their involvement in the notorious Wei family criminal gang. The syndicate was linked to a range of offences, including telecommunications fraud, human trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal gambling, organised prostitution and murder.
According to the court, the gang’s operations generated more than $1.8 billion. Wei, identified as one of its leaders, was also convicted of murder. At least two Chinese nationals were killed in crimes associated with the syndicate.
The court sentenced three additional members to life imprisonment, while 55 others received prison terms ranging from three years and three months to 24 years.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the network operated 14 large-scale compounds and lured thousands of Chinese nationals to Myanmar with promises of high-paying jobs.
However, many scam-centre workers across the region are themselves victims of human trafficking. Recruited through deceptive job offers, they are often confined in heavily guarded compounds and forced to carry out online fraud targeting victims in different countries.
The verdict comes amid Beijing’s wider campaign against scam operations across Southeast Asia, where criminal networks have built extensive operations targeting people through online investment fraud, impersonation schemes and other digital scams.
In July, the International Organization for Migration warned that as many as 300,000 people could be working in scam centres across Southeast Asia, highlighting the scale of a criminal industry that combines cyber fraud with forced labour and human trafficking.
