Chinese court gives death sentence to Myanmar crime syndicate boss Bai Suocheng
He and core members of his group are said to have run industrial-scale fraud and gambling operations that led to deaths of Chinese citizens.
Bai Suocheng was sentenced to death, as were his son Bai Yingcang and three close associates. (Image: SCMP/CCTV)
A notorious Myanmar crime syndicate boss was sentenced to death on Tuesday (Nov 4) by a Chinese court for his group’s industrial-scale operations that led to the deaths of six Chinese citizens, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The Kokang crime boss Bai Suocheng, his son Bai Yingcang and three close associates were sentenced to death by the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court in Guangdong province, Xinhua reported.
Another 16 defendants working for the Bai family received criminal sentences of varying lengths, the report on the court verdict said.
Two of the 16 were also given death sentences but with a two-year reprieve. Another five were handed life imprisonment, it said.
Nine people received fixed-term prison sentences, ranging up to 20 years, along with other penalties such as fines, confiscated property and deportation from China.
According to the court verdict, Bai and core members of his group ran industrial-scale telecoms fraud and gambling operations under armed protection.
Their activities were determined to have led to the deaths of six Chinese citizens, the suicide of one Chinese citizen and injuries to several more.
Bai had led his establishment’s armed forces to build 41 compounds to attract and shelter several financiers, with Bai offering them armed protection in return, according to the verdict.
His syndicate and its financiers engaged in crimes including telecoms and online fraud, illegal casino operations, intentional homicide, intentional injury, kidnapping, extortion, organising and forcing prostitution, as well as organising illegal border crossings, it added.
The verdict said the amount of money involved in gambling and fraud exceeded 29 billion yuan (US$4 billion) and that the group colluded in the manufacturing and trafficking of about 11 tonnes of methamphetamine, according to Xinhua.
The court’s ruling comes as Beijing seeks to hold Myanmar’s criminal bosses accountable for their activities harming Chinese interests and nationals.
The Bai family’s trial started in September after prosecutors brought the case in July.
Two weeks ago, Chinese state media aired a confession from Wei Huairen, leader of another major gang operating in Kokang, Myanmar.
Wei, who is also known as Wai San, led the Wei family crime syndicate. The Wei family is suspected of murder, fraud, kidnapping, running gambling dens, organising prostitution and drug trafficking.
A statement from China’s Ministry of Public Security said the family was responsible for the deaths of at least eight Chinese citizens.
And in September, a court in Zhejiang province handed down death sentences to 11 members of the Ming family, another notorious group operating in Kokang, for their crimes, including fraud and murder.
Ming Xuechang, the Ming family’s crime boss, died in 2023 of an apparent suicide after he was arrested.
Over the past two years, China has worked closely with Myanmar to tackle cross-border telecoms crimes and launched sweeping crackdowns against online fraud.
The Chinese public has grown increasingly concerned about the cyber scams, which often lure Chinese nationals to northern Myanmar, where they are then trapped and forced to work for criminal gangs.
This article was first published on SCMP.
