Chinese Court Executes 11 in Myanmar Scam Syndicate

A Chinese court has executed 11 members of a criminal syndicate led by the Ming family, who operated scam centers in northern Myanmar and were convicted of killing 14 Chinese citizens, authorities announced Thursday.

The executions were carried out by the Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court in eastern Zhejiang province, following death sentences handed down in September for crimes including intentional homicide, illegal detention, fraud and operating illegal casinos. The Supreme People's Court reviewed and approved the sentences after two defendants appealed, with the Zhejiang Higher People's Court rejecting the appeals in November. Those executed included Ming Guoping, son of the family's late leader Ming Xuechang and a commander in the Kokang Border Guard Force, as well as Ming Zhenzhen, the family leader's granddaughter. Other individuals executed were Zhou Weichang, Wu Hongming, Wu Senlong and Fu Yubin, along with five additional syndicate members.

Court records indicate the group ran large-scale telecommunications fraud and gambling operations from 2015 in Myanmar's Kokang region, an autonomous area along the border with China. The syndicates controlled compounds in...