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One Chinese judicial body has sentenced five top members of a notorious Burmese organized crime group to capital punishment as Beijing continues its crackdown on scam networks in South East Asia.

Overall, 21 Bai family figures and partners were convicted of fraud, murder, assault and other offenses, said a official report posted on the court portal.

This clan is one of a handful of syndicates that rose to power in the early 2000s and changed the poor remote area of Laukkaing into a lucrative base of gambling establishments and entertainment zones.

Over the past few years they pivoted to illegal operations in which thousands of trafficked people, a large number of them Chinese, are trapped, mistreated and forced to defraud targets in unlawful operations worth huge sums.

Specifics of the Sentencing

Syndicate head the patriarch and his offspring Bai Yingcang were among the five individuals sentenced to death by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, A third figure and A fourth person were the other three punished.

Two figures of the clan mafia were handed conditional death penalties. Several were condemned to permanent incarceration, while nine others were handed prison sentences ranging from three to 20 years.

The Bais, who controlled their own private army, set up forty-one compounds to host their online fraud activities and gambling houses, officials reported.

Extent of Unlawful Activities

Such unlawful enterprises entailed more than 29bn local currency ($4.1bn; over three billion pounds). They also resulted in the demise of several from China individuals, the suicide of an individual and several injuries, state media announced.

The severe penalties delivered by the judicial body are part of China's effort to remove the extensive scam operations in the region - and deliver a stern warning to additional criminal groups.

History of the Groups

Such families gained influence in the recent decades with the assistance of a prominent figure - who now leads the country's military government. He had intended to prop up associates in Laukkaing after ousting its former warlord.

Among the groups, the this family were "the most powerful", the son before informed official sources.

Back then, the clan was the leading in each of the government and military arenas," the individual said in a film about the clan, shown on national media in the summer.

During the film, a employee at one of their scam centres described the abuse he had suffered at the location: besides being beaten, he had his fingernails extracted with pliers and two of his digits cut off with a kitchen knife.

Additional Allegations

Bai Yingcang is among those who were sentenced to execution this week. The individual has also been independently sentenced of conspiring to smuggle and make 11 tonnes of narcotics, reports stated.

Decline of the Groups

Their end came in last year as situations changed.

Over a long period Beijing has urged the Myanmar junta to limit scam activities in Laukkaing.

Last year, the authorities issued arrest warrants for the key members of these groups.

The patriarch, the Bai family's leader, was among the figures who were transferred to Beijing from Myanmar in recent months.

For what reason is the Chinese government putting significant resources to pursue the clans?" a official said in the July film.

"It's to warn other people, regardless of your identity, where you are, when you engage in such terrible offenses targeting the citizens, you will face consequences."