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A Chinese court has sentenced several leading figures of a well-known Burmese organized crime group to death as Beijing maintains its crackdown on scam networks in the region.

Overall, twenty-one Bai family individuals and collaborators were found guilty of fraud, murder, assault and other crimes, said a state media document published on the court portal.

The group is among a few of mafias that gained influence in the last two decades and converted the impoverished backwater town of Laukkaing into a profitable center of gambling establishments and red-light districts.

Over the past few years they shifted to scams in which many of trafficked workers, a large number of them from China, are ensnared, mistreated and compelled to cheat targets in unlawful enterprises estimated at huge sums.

Specifics of the Judgment

Syndicate head Bai Suocheng and his offspring Bai Yingcang were among the five figures condemned to execution by the judicial body. Yang Liqiang, A third figure and A fourth person were the remaining punished.

A couple of individuals of the Bai family mafia were given suspended death sentences. Five were sentenced to permanent incarceration, while more figures were handed jail sentences between a period of 3-20 years.

The Bais, who commanded their own militia, established forty-one bases to host their online fraud operations and casinos, authorities said.

Extent of Criminal Operations

Such criminal activities involved over 29bn Chinese yuan ($4.1bn; £3.1 billion). These activities also led to the deaths of several Chinese individuals, the self-inflicted death of one and several assaults, official sources reported.

The severe penalties handed down by the judicial body are a component of China's initiative to eradicate the large scam operations in the region - and send a firm message to other criminal organizations.

Background of the Groups

These groups rose to power in the recent decades with the support of a military leader - who currently heads the country's junta. The leader had intended to prop up associates in the town after replacing its previous warlord.

Within the groups, the this family were "the top", the son before told state media.

"At that time, the clan was the most powerful in both the government and armed spheres," he stated in a film about the clan, aired on national media in the summer.

During the report, a individual at one of illegal operations narrated the harm he had endured at the location: besides being hit, he had his nails yanked out with pliers and two of his fingers amputated with a tool.

Additional Allegations

The son is among those who were given to death this week. The individual has additionally been independently sentenced of conspiring to trade and produce 11 tonnes of illegal drugs, official sources reported.

Downfall of the Clans

Their end came in recent times as circumstances changed.

Previously Beijing has encouraged the regime to rein in scam operations in the area.

Last year, the Chinese police issued arrest warrants for the key figures of such clans.

Bai Suocheng, the clan's leader, was among the individuals who were extradited to Beijing from the country in the beginning of the year.

For what reason is the state making such extensive work to go after the four families?" a official commented in the summer film.

This serves as a warning other people, no matter your identity, where you are, when you carry out such heinous crimes affecting the citizens, you will be held accountable."