China court sentences 11 members of Myanmar-based crime syndicate to death

A court in China sentenced 11 people to death this week for their roles in a family-run crime syndicate accused of running illegal gambling and scam operations worth more than $1.4 billion and for the deaths of disobedient workers.

The Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Ming Guoping, Ming Zhenzhen, Zhou Weichang — all members of a powerful family in Kokkang, Myanmar — to death along with eight others, according to a court statement.

The court also handed death sentences suspended for two years to five others, while a further 12 defendants received jail sentences of between five and 24 years. Two-year suspended death sentences are often converted to life in prison.

The sentences came shortly after China on Sunday separately sentenced former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Tang Renjian to death with reprieve for taking bribes. Tang took bribes of more than 268 million yuan in cash and property between 2007 and 2024, according to the Intermediate People’s Court of Changchun.

China issued arrest warrants for members of the Ming family in November 2023 on suspicion of fraud, murder and illegal detention as part of a crackdown on illegal scam operations near the border with Myanmar.