Inside The Ming Clan: A Family Built A Scam Empire And Paid With Their Lives

Eleven members of the Ming family criminal gang, who ran mafia-like scam centres in Myanmar, have been executed by China, state media reported on Thursday.

The 11 individuals were sentenced to death in September after they were found guilty of crimes, including illegal detention, homicide and fraud, per the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

Who Are The Ming Family?

They are among the so-called four families of northern Myanmar. These crime syndicates stand accused of running hundreds of compounds that engage in prostitution, internet fraud, and drug production. Their members held prominent positions in both the local government and the militia aligned with Myanmar's ruling junta, CNN reported.

The Ming family, ethnically Chinese, ran sprawling scam compounds in the autonomous Kokang region of Myanmar's Shan State, close to the Chinese border.

Why Were They Executed?

Scamming gangs in Southeast Asia steal over $43.8 billion annually, as per the United States Institute of Peace. After years of growing international media attention and complaints by relatives of trafficked scam centre workers, Beijing cracked down on the scam compounds in 2023.

The same year in November, China issued arrest warrants for members of the family, levying charges of fraud, murder and trafficking against them. It also posted rewards between $14,000 and $70,000 for their capture.

The Wenzhou People's Intermediate Court in Zhejiang Province convicted 16 members of the Ming family syndicate for causing financial losses exceeding $1.4 billion. They were also found guilty for their roles in over a dozen deaths of people, some of whom were Chinese nationals, trying to escape from the compounds where they were forced to work.

While 11 people were sentenced to death immediately, five others got suspended death sentences. Two of the defendants appealed against the decision, and the case was sent to China's highest court, the Supreme People's Court, which upheld the original verdict, as per Xinhua.

Ming Xuechang, who headed the group and also served as a member of a state parliament, died by suicide earlier while in custody. His son, a leader in the junta-aligned Kokang Border Guard Force, Ming Guoping, and his granddaughter, Ming Zhenzhen, were among the people executed.

The Ming Empire

Headed by Ming Xuechang, the Ming family had long been linked to Crouching Tiger Villa, an infamous compound in Kokang. At its peak, the group had 10,000 people conducting scams and other crimes, as per Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The scam compounds of the family lured thousands of people, mainly Chinese, with promises of well-paid jobs, only to imprison them. The workers were coerced into running elaborate "pig-butchering" scams, where they slowly gained the trust of victims before defrauding them, the BBC reported. Torture was common. 

In October 2023, during an alleged escape attempt, the guards killed several Chinese nationals at Crouching Tiger Villa. This compelled the Chinese authorities to take action.

Impact Of The Executions

While the exact figures remain secret, China executes more people than anywhere in the world, the BBC reported. The state's actions against the Ming family indicate a tougher stance against the scam compounds running in Myanmar.

A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry said Beijing would continue to make efforts to “eradicate the scourge of gambling and fraud.” 

In Myanmar, scam compounds have long been shielded by corruption and lawlessness in the country's border regions. The devastating civil war engulfing the country has been used by the crime syndicates to consolidate their position.