11 members of mafia family get death penalty in China

BEIJING, Sept 29 (BBC): A Chinese court has sentenced to death 11 members of a notorious family that ran scam centres in Myanmar, according to Chinese state media.

Dozens of members of the Ming family were found guilty of conducting criminal activities, with many receiving lengthy jail sentences.

The Ming family worked for one of the four clans that ran Myanmar's sleepy backwater town of Laukkai, close to the border with China, and turned it into a hub for gambling, drugs and scam centres.

Myanmar eventually cracked down, arresting many members of these families in 2023 and handing them over to Chinese authorities.

A total of 39 Ming family members were sentenced on Monday in the eastern city of Wenzhou, according to a report by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Besides the 11 members who received death sentences, another five received death sentences with two-year suspensions; 11 were jailed for life; and the rest were given jail sentences ranging from five to 24 years.