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A China's court has condemned a group of prominent individuals of an infamous Burmese organized crime group to capital punishment as Beijing persists in its efforts on fraudulent networks in South East Asia.

Altogether, 21 Bai family figures and partners were convicted of fraud, homicide, assault and various crimes, stated a state media report posted on the judicial website.

The family is one of a small number of syndicates that gained influence in the last two decades and converted the poor isolated region of Laukkaing into a wealthy base of casinos and red-light districts.

Over the past few years they pivoted to illegal operations in which thousands of smuggled workers, several of them Chinese, are trapped, harmed and forced to defraud targets in unlawful activities valued at billions of dollars.

Information of the Sentencing

Mafia leader the patriarch and his son Bai Yingcang were among the five figures sentenced to death by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, A third figure and Chen Guangyi were the other three sentenced.

Two figures of the Bai family mafia were received conditional death penalties. Several were sentenced to permanent incarceration, while more figures were handed jail sentences between several years to two decades.

This family, who controlled their own armed group, established 41 compounds to accommodate their cyberscam operations and gambling houses, authorities reported.

Extent of Unlawful Operations

These unlawful enterprises included over 29 billion yuan (over four billion dollars; £3.1bn). They also caused the deaths of several from China individuals, the self-inflicted death of an individual and multiple injuries, state media announced.

The severe penalties handed down by the judicial body are within the Chinese initiative to eliminate the extensive scam networks in the region - and deliver a strong message to further illegal organizations.

History of the Families

Such clans gained influence in the early 2000s with the assistance of a military leader - who is in charge of Myanmar's military government. He had wanted to prop up allies in Laukkaing after replacing its earlier ruler.

Within the groups, the Bais were "the most powerful", Bai Yingcang earlier told state media.

During that period, the clan was the most powerful in both the government and armed circles," he stated in a film about the clan, shown on Chinese state media in July.

Within that documentary, a employee at their their scam centres described the abuse he had suffered there: besides being assaulted, he had his fingernails extracted with instruments and two of his fingers severed with a tool.

Additional Charges

The son is among those who were given to death recently. The individual has additionally been independently sentenced of organizing to trade and manufacture 11 tonnes of illegal drugs, reports reported.

Decline of the Clans

Their downfall occurred in recent times as political winds shifted.

Previously Chinese authorities has pressed the Myanmar junta to rein in scam activities in the area.

In 2023, the authorities issued legal actions for the key figures of these groups.

The patriarch, the Bai family's leader, was among the individuals who were extradited to Beijing from Myanmar in the beginning of the year.

"Why is the authorities putting so much effort to go after the groups?" a official commented in the summer film.

The purpose is to caution individuals, no matter who you are, where you are, when you carry out these heinous acts affecting the Chinese people, you will pay the price."