China Sentences Three Scam-Gang Bosses to Death for Brutal Compounds in Myanmar

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Death Sentences for the Leaders

The Quanzhou Intermediate People's Court in Fujian Province handed down the verdicts on Tuesday. Wei Huairen, Chen Dawei and Liao Jingfang were sentenced to death. Wei Huairen was named as one of the gang's leaders. He was found guilty of several crimes, including murder.

Three more members received life sentences. Another 55 were given prison terms of between three years and three months and 24 years.

According to the court, the group was involved in drug trafficking, organized prostitution, illegal casinos and telecom fraud. It was also held responsible for the killing of at least two Chinese citizens.

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A Criminal Empire Worth Billions

The court said the gang's activities brought in more than 12.2 billion yuan (about $1.8 billion). Prosecutors had put the damage even higher during the trial. According to the South China Morning Post, they alleged that victims in China lost more than 24 billion yuan (about $3.5 billion) to the syndicate's compounds since 2019.

The two figures measure different things (the court's ruling on the gang's proceeds versus the prosecution's estimate of victims' losses), so they should not be directly compared.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV described the Weis as the "most violent" criminal force in northern Myanmar. It said the gang ran 14 large scam compounds. It also said the gang lured many Chinese citizens to Myanmar with false promises of well-paid jobs. According to CCTV, police found the remains of victims bound in iron chains, some with bullet holes in their skulls.

These accounts come from Chinese state media and court statements, and they cannot be independently verified.

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How Scam Compounds Work

Scam compounds are fortified sites where workers run online fraud on a massive scale. They typically contact victims by phone or internet and trick them into fake investments or romances. (This type of fraud is often called "pig butchering.")

Not all workers are willing participants. Many are trafficked foreigners, often Chinese, who were lured by fake job offers. They are then held in prison-like conditions and forced to defraud others.

The UN has warned that criminal networks from China and Southeast Asia earn tens of billions of dollars a year this way. It estimates that hundreds of thousands of people work in scam centers worldwide.

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The "Four Families" of Kokang

The Wei family is one of four clans, along with the Bai, Ming and Liu families, that analysts say dominated Kokang's criminal economy. The clans combined business, militia power and political influence. They were long allied with Myanmar's military.

Beijing has already pursued several of these clans. In September 2025, a court in Wenzhou sentenced 16 members of the Ming family to death. In November 2025, a court in Shenzhen sentenced five members of the Bai family to death. As AFP reported, two more received suspended death sentences, which often end up as life imprisonment.

China carried out executions in the two cases earlier this year. In January, 11 members of the Ming gang were executed. A month later, four members of the Bai clan were put to death.

The Wei family members were first indicted in October 2025.

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Why Beijing Is Acting Now

China says it is protecting its citizens, and many victims of the compounds are indeed Chinese. Beijing has stepped up cooperation with Southeast Asian governments, and thousands of people have been sent back to China.

Still, the cases raise questions that deserve attention. China's courts are controlled by the Communist Party, and trials in such cases are typically presented through state media. Independent observers have little access to the evidence or to the proceedings.

The clans also operated openly for years in territory tied to Myanmar's military, which has close ties to Beijing. The prosecutions came only after the Myanmar junta lost control of Kokang and the clan members ended up in Chinese hands.

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Outlook

The Wei verdicts continue a clear pattern: China is making an example of the Kokang clans in public. Since the Ming and Bai death sentences were carried out within months, similar speed could follow here, though the final approval process is not public.

Whether the sentences will end the scam industry is doubtful. Experts note that compounds have shifted to other parts of Southeast Asia and beyond in the past. The crackdown targets the bosses, while the networks that profit from trafficked workers continue elsewhere.

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Sources

1. South China Morning Post – "Myanmar's Wei family put on trial in latest phase of China's crackdown on scam compounds": https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3354555/myanmars-wei-family-put-trial-latest-phase-chinas-crackdown-scam-compounds
2. AFP via Channels TV – "China issues death sentences to five members of Myanmar gang": https://www.channelstv.com/2025/11/04/china-issues-death-sentences-to-five-members-of-myanmar-gang
3. OCCRP – "China Sentences 16 Members of Myanmar Crime Syndicate to Death Over Cyber Scams": https://www.occrp.org/en/news/china-sentences-16-members-of-myanmar-crime-syndicate-to-death-over-cyber-scams
4. Asia News Network – "Chinese court sentences five members of northern Myanmar telecom fraud syndicate to death": https://asianews.network/?p=236814
5. IDN Financials (citing ABC Australia) – "China executes 11 key members of online scam ring from Myanmar": https://www.idnfinancials.com/news/60908/china-executes-11-key-members-of-online-scam-ring-from-myanmar

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