Chinese court sentences three members of a Myanmar-based scam syndicate to death and jails fifty-eight others

13 October 2026

The Quanzhou Intermediate People's Court in Fujian province, south-eastern China, announced sentences on 13 October 2026 against members of what it called the Wei family criminal gang, which ran scam compounds in Myanmar. Three members, Wei Huairen, Chen Dawei and Liao Jingfang, were sentenced to death; Wei Huairen was found guilty of several crimes including murder. Three others received life sentences, and fifty-five more were given prison terms ranging from three years and three months to twenty-four years. The crimes included drug trafficking, organised prostitution, illegal casino operations, telecommunications fraud and the murder of at least two Chinese nationals. The court said the operations netted more than 1.8 billion US dollars. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the gang ran fourteen large-scale compounds and lured thousands of Chinese nationals to Myanmar with promises of high wages. The International Organization for Migration estimated in July that scam centres in South-East Asia employ up to 300,000 workers.