Ming Family

China Sentences 39 Members of Myanmar’s Ming Family: 11 Immediate Death Sentences, 5 Death Sentences with Two-Year Reprieve, 11 Life Imprisonments, Remainder Receive 5 to 24 Years

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In a landmark ruling that underscores China’s aggressive stance against cross-border cybercrime, the Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court in eastern Zhejiang Province sentenced 39 members of Myanmar’s notorious Ming family on September 29, 2025. The family, long accused of orchestrating a vast criminal network involving telecommunications fraud, illegal gambling, drug trafficking, and human exploitation, faced severe penalties reflecting the scale of their operations.

This verdict, announced by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, marks one of the most significant crackdowns on organized crime syndicates operating from Myanmar’s volatile border regions. The sentences range from immediate executions to lengthy prison terms, signaling Beijing’s zero-tolerance policy toward scams that have defrauded billions from victims worldwide. The Ming family’s empire, built over nearly a decade, preyed on vulnerable workers and international targets alike, transforming the once-sleepy town of Laukkaing into a notorious hub of illicit activity.

With at least 10,000 individuals coerced into laboring in scam compounds, the group’s activities generated over 10 billion yuan—approximately $1.4 billion—in illicit revenue. This case highlights the intertwined web of crime, politics, and insurgency in Myanmar’s Shan State, where the Mings wielded influence through ties to local militias and the ruling junta. As Chinese authorities continue repatriating thousands of scam victims and suspects, this sentencing serves as a deterrent amid ongoing regional efforts to dismantle these networks.

The Ming Family’s Criminal Dominion in Laukkaing

The Ming family emerged as a dominant force in Myanmar’s Kokang region, an autonomous area along the Chinese border known for its ethnic Chinese population and porous frontiers. One of four powerful clans—alongside the Bai, Wei, and Liu families—the Mings capitalized on Laukkaing’s strategic location to establish a sprawling criminal ecosystem starting around 2015. What began as underground casinos catering to Chinese gamblers, where betting is illegal, evolved into sophisticated scam operations that ensnared victims globally through fake investment schemes, romance frauds, and cryptocurrency cons.

At the heart of their operations stood compounds like the infamous Crouching Tiger Villa, where trafficked workers endured brutal conditions. Recruited under false pretenses with promises of high-paying jobs, these individuals—many from China and Southeast Asia—were stripped of passports, confined behind barbed wire, and forced to meet daily quotas of fraudulent transactions. Failure to comply resulted in beatings, electric shocks, or worse. Court documents revealed that the Mings oversaw at least 10 deaths among workers, including a chilling October 2023 incident where armed guards opened fire on a group attempting to flee a compound ahead of a police raid, killing four.

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The family’s patriarch, Ming Xuechang, embodied their dual role as crime lords and political players. A former member of Myanmar’s state parliament and leader in the junta-aligned Kokang Border Guard Force, he leveraged these positions to shield operations and recruit “financial backers” for expansion. His son, Ming Guoping, and daughter, Ming Julan, managed day-to-day enforcements, while granddaughter Ming Zhenzhen handled logistics. This blend of familial loyalty and militia muscle allowed the Mings to process billions in laundered funds annually, turning Laukkaing from an impoverished backwater into a glittering den of vice lined with neon-lit casinos and high-rise scam centers.

Chinese authorities estimate the broader scam industry in northern Myanmar drains over $43 billion yearly from victims, with the Mings’ share alone topping $1.4 billion. Their network extended beyond fraud to drug production and organized prostitution, funneling profits back into local power structures. Yet, this dominance unraveled in late 2023 when an alliance of ethnic armed groups launched a coordinated offensive against junta forces in Laukkaing. The rapid rebel advance, which analysts attribute to tacit Chinese approval, exposed the scam compounds and led to the arrest of key Ming figures. Myanmar’s military, facing defeat, handed over dozens of family members to Beijing, where they now face justice far from the border they once terrorized.

Breakdown of Sentences and Court Proceedings

The Wenzhou court’s decision meticulously apportioned punishment based on individual roles, with ringleaders receiving the harshest measures. Of the 39 convicted, 11—primarily core family members including direct descendants of Ming Xuechang—were handed immediate death sentences. These individuals were deemed principal architects of the fraud and violence, directly linked to murders and trafficking that claimed multiple lives. Another five received death sentences suspended for two years, a conditional reprieve allowing potential commutation to life imprisonment if no further crimes occur during the period.

This group included mid-level operators who enforced quotas but showed signs of remorse in confessions broadcast by state media. Eleven defendants drew life imprisonment terms, reserved for those deeply embedded in the syndicate’s management, such as compound overseers and financial coordinators who laundered proceeds through international channels. The remaining 12 faced fixed prison sentences ranging from five to 24 years, targeting lower-tier associates involved in recruitment, security, or peripheral scams. No leniency was extended based on age or prior record; the court emphasized the “heinous nature” of crimes that exploited national borders for personal gain.

Proceedings unfolded over months, with trials commencing after extraditions from Myanmar in early 2024. Prosecutors presented evidence of over 10,000 victim testimonies, digital transaction logs tracing $1.4 billion in fraud, and forensic details from the 2023 killings. Several defendants, including Ming Julan, issued public apologies on CCTV, admitting to “irreparable harm” caused by their actions. Ming Xuechang’s suicide in custody during pretrial detention—reportedly by hanging—deprived the court of his testimony but did not halt the case.

The verdicts, delivered en masse, reflect China’s judicial efficiency in transnational cases, where convictions rates exceed 99% for organized crime. This sentencing aligns with Beijing’s 2023 directive to eradicate border scams, which has repatriated over 53,000 Chinese nationals from Myanmar compounds. By executing or imprisoning en masse, authorities aim to dismantle familial networks that regenerate leadership upon losses.

Implications for Regional Crime and International Cooperation

The Ming verdict reverberates beyond Wenzhou, exposing vulnerabilities in Southeast Asia’s scam ecosystem and bolstering China’s influence in Myanmar’s civil war. Laukkaing’s fall to rebels in 2023, justified partly as an anti-scam purge, has scattered operations to Cambodia and Laos, but Beijing’s pressure has yielded results: Thailand shuttered compounds earlier in 2025, and the UN has hailed the crackdown as a model against the “scamdemic.” Yet challenges persist; adaptive syndicates now use AI-driven fraud, evading traditional policing.

For Myanmar, the handover of Ming suspects underscores the junta’s desperation amid rebel gains, trading criminals for potential Chinese aid. The Kokang Border Guard Force, once a Ming stronghold, lies fractured, weakening junta proxies. Internationally, the U.S. Institute of Peace notes that disrupting families like the Mings could reclaim billions for victims, but requires sustained multilateral action. Interpol coordination has intensified, with rewards up to $70,000 for remaining fugitives.

China’s approach—combining military signaling, extraditions, and exemplary punishments—deters aspiring kingpins while repatriating victims for rehabilitation. Over 10,000 workers freed from Laukkaing compounds received counseling and job training upon return. Critics, however, question the fate of non-Chinese trafficked persons and the rebels’ own scam tolerances. As sentences take effect, immediate executions loom within months, pending final approvals. This case not only avenges fraud’s toll but redefines border security in an era of digital crime, urging global vigilance against empires built on deception.

95 thoughts on “China Sentences 39 Members of Myanmar’s Ming Family: 11 Immediate Death Sentences, 5 Death Sentences with Two-Year Reprieve, 11 Life Imprisonments, Remainder Receive 5 to 24 Years”

  39. ایزوفیت، وی ایزوله ایزوفیت ناترکس حاوی ۲۵ گرم پروتئین وی ایزوله ۱۰۰٪ در هر سروینگ است که با روش میکروفیلتراسیون پیشرفته تولید شده و جذب سریع دارد.

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  64. مکمل گینر، که گاهی با نام‌هایی چون Weight Gainer یا Mass Gainer نیز شناخته می‌شود، یک مکمل غذایی پرکالری است که برای کمک به افرادی که در افزایش وزن و حجم عضلانی مشکل دارند (معمولاً افراد دارای متابولیسم بالا یا اکتومورف‌ها) طراحی شده است.

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