China sentences three people to death for running Myanmar scam centres

A court in eastern China sentenced three members of a criminal gang to death for operating scam centres in Myanmar. Wei Huairen, Chen Dawei, and Liao Jingfang, part of the Wei family gang, were found guilty of multiple crimes including murder, drug trafficking, organized prostitution, illegal gambling, and telecommunications fraud. The gang's operations, which involved 14 large compounds, netted over $1.8 billion and lured thousands of Chinese nationals with promises of high wages in Myanmar. This verdict comes amid China's intensified crackdown on cross-border scam networks in Southeast Asia, which employ up to 300,000 workers and use online schemes to defraud victims worldwide.