China sentences three people to death for running Myanmar scam centres

Dozens more were imprisoned for their involvement in crimes including telecommunications fraud, trafficking and murder.

Suspected trafficking victims after being freed from scam centres in eastern Myanmar [File: Thanaphon Wuttison/AP Photo]

A court in eastern China has sentenced three members of a criminal gang to death for operating a network of scam centres in Myanmar.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Quanzhou Intermediate People’s Court, a high court in southeastern Fujian province, said it had sentenced Wei Huairen, Chen Dawei and Liao Jingfang for their involvement in the “Wei family criminal gang”.

list 1 of 4 Myanmar military raids online scam hub, arrests nearly 350 on Thai border

list 2 of 4 China executes 11 linked to Myanmar scam operations: State media

list 3 of 4 More than 5,300 people still held in Myanmar scam centres: rights group

list 4 of 4 Online scam centres fuelling human trafficking worldwide, warns UN agency

The syndicate was involved in crimes including drug trafficking, organised prostitution, illegal casino operations, telecommunications fraud and the murder of at least two Chinese nationals.

The court said Wei was one of the group’s leaders and was found guilty of several crimes, including murder.

Three other members were jailed for life, while 55 others were handed sentences ranging from three years and three months to 24 years in prison.

The court said the gang’s operations netted more than $1.8bn.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday described the gang as operating 14 “large-scale” compounds and having lured “thousands” of Chinese nationals with promises of high wages to Myanmar.

The verdict comes as Beijing intensified its crackdown on cross-border scam networks operating in southeast Asia, where scam parks have become an industrial-scale business.

The International Organization for Migration in July warned that scam centres in southeast Asia employ as many as 300,000 workers and use online schemes to defraud people in the West, many of them elderly.

Many of those conducting the online scams are trafficked foreign nationals forced to work in prison-like compounds.

另有数十人因参与电信诈骗、贩毒和谋杀等犯罪活动而被判入狱。

疑似人口贩运受害者从缅甸东部诈骗中心获救后 [图片：Thanaphon Wuttison/AP Photo]

中国东部一家法院判处一个犯罪团伙的三名成员死刑，罪名是他们在缅甸经营诈骗中心网络。

福建省泉州市中级人民法院周二发表声明称，已对魏怀仁、陈大伟、廖静芳三人参与“魏家犯罪团伙”的案件作出判决。

缅甸军方突袭网络诈骗中心，在泰缅边境逮捕近350人（共4条报道，此为第1条）

中国处决了11名与缅甸诈骗案有关的人员（名单2/4）：官方媒体

名单3/4：人权组织称，缅甸诈骗中心仍关押着超过5300人。

联合国机构警告：四个网络诈骗中心助长了全球人口贩运，名单之四在此！

该犯罪集团涉嫌贩毒、有组织卖淫、非法赌场经营、电信诈骗以及谋杀至少两名中国公民等罪行。

法庭称魏某是该团伙的领导人之一，并被判犯有包括谋杀在内的多项罪行。

另有三名成员被判处终身监禁，其余 55 人被判处三年零三个月至二十四年不等的有期徒刑。

法院称，该团伙的犯罪活动非法获利超过18亿美元。

中国中央电视台周二报道称，该团伙经营着 14 个“大型”营地，并以高薪为诱饵，将“数千名”中国公民引诱到缅甸。

判决出炉之际，北京加大了对在东南亚活动的跨境诈骗网络的打击力度，在东南亚，诈骗园区已经发展成为一项产业规模庞大的生意。

国际移民组织在 7 月份警告称，东南亚的诈骗中心雇佣了多达 30 万名工人，利用网络诈骗西方民众，其中许多是老年人。

许多进行网络诈骗的人都是被贩卖的外国公民，他们被迫在类似监狱的场所工作。