In a video clip posted on X by China Perspective, a court in Zhejiang province sentenced the Ming family members for crimes including homicide, illegal detention, fraud and operating gambling dens last September. According to the report, the Ming family was one of several clans that ran Myanmar’s sleepy town of Laukkaing, close to the border with China. “Under their rule, the impoverished backwater was transformed into a flashy hub of casinos and red-light districts,” it said. “Their scam empires came crashing down in 2023, when they were detained and handed over to China by ethnic militias that had taken control of Laukkaing in the ongoing civil war. “Stories like these added to the frustration in Beijing, which had long been demanding that Myanmar’s junta rein in the scam mafia.