China executes 11 members of “Ming family” criminal network

China has carried out the death sentences for 11 members of a criminal network operating from neighbouring Myanmar.

Eleven members of the Ming family were sentenced in September 2025 by a court in Zhejiang province, China, for crimes including homicide, illegal detention, fraud, and operating gambling dens, Caliber.Az reports via Chinese media. 

They appealed the verdict, but in November 2025, the Higher People's Court of Zhejiang Province rejected the appeal, upholding the original judgment and forwarding the case to the Supreme People's Court (SPC) for review in accordance with Chinese law.

The SPC later approved the death sentences, confirming that since 2015, the Ming family had established multiple operational bases in Myanmar to carry out telecom fraud, operate illegal gambling dens, and commit other criminal activities. 

According to the SPC, the total funds involved in these fraud and gambling operations exceeded 10 billion yuan (around $1.4 billion). The gangs also intentionally murdered, assaulted, and illegally detained individuals involved in the scams, resulting in the deaths of 14 Chinese citizens and injuries to several others.

The eleven members of the Ming family are the first Myanmar-based scam bosses to be executed by China, though authorities have signalled that they will not be the last. In November, five members of the Bai family were also sentenced to death, while trials for two other criminal groups from the Wei and Liu families are still ongoing.

The Ming family trial was conducted behind closed doors, although over 160 people attended the sentencing hearing last year, including the victims’ families. In addition, more than 20 other family members received prison sentences ranging from five years to life in September. The clan patriarch, Ming Xuechang, died by suicide in 2023 while attempting to evade detention, according to Myanmar’s military.

China’s border region with Myanmar has increasingly become a hub for phone and online scam networks targeting Chinese citizens. Since July 2023, China’s Ministry of Public Security has carried out large-scale operations in the area, extraditing over 53,000 suspects from Myanmar for prosecution by December 2024.

By Jeyhun Aghazada