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BEIJING: A Chinese court said Wednesday (Feb 19) it had finished a public trial for alleged members of a crime family accused of murder, fraud and collusion with cross-border scammers based in Myanmar.
Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar's lawless borderlands, staffed by foreigners -- many of them Chinese -- who say they were trafficked and forced to swindle people online, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry.
In recent months, Beijing has stepped up cooperation with Southeast Asian nations to crack down on the compounds, and a militia allied with the Myanmar junta said this month that it is preparing to deport 10,000 people with ties to scam operations.
A court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou said in a statement Wednesday it had held a six-day public trial of 23 members of a family with links to Myanmar accused of acting as a criminal syndicate.
Among them were Mg Myin Shaunt Phyin and Ma Thiri Maung, which the court identified as "main suspects" along with other key members Yan Sone Hwar and Myin Shut Lan.
The defendants stand accused of a litany of crimes including murder, fraud, intentional injury, illegal imprisonment, extortion, drug smuggling, prostitution and running illegal gambling dens.
The court said the group were linked to the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and the wounding of six more, as well as illicit gains of over 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) since 2015.
It cited one instance in 2023 in which the accused "opened fire" on people at a scam compound to prevent them from being transferred back to China.
They also allegedly relied on influence with armed forces in Myanmar's Kokang region, which borders China, to "collude with criminal groups".
A verdict in the trial would be announced "at a later date", the court said. - AFP
