China is reportedly dealing with around 40,000 instances of telecom and online fraud, indicating a 26.7 per cent rise from the prior year as authorities ramped up efforts to tackle scam operations originating from Myanmar. These figures were disclosed by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) and the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) during the ongoing National People’s Congress (NPC) sessions in Beijing.
The SPC pointed out that the telecom fraud cases involved an astonishing 82,000 defendants. The SPP revealed that 78,000 individuals faced charges of telecom fraud, marking a substantial increase of 53.9 per cent from 2023. This spike in cases follows the recent repatriation of hundreds of Chinese citizens who had been rescued from scam centres in Myanmar.
Among the significant cases emphasized was that of 39 members of the “Ming family” syndicate in Myanmar, linked to fraudulent activities and gambling transactions exceeding 10 billion yuan (around US$1.37 billion). These operations reportedly led to the demise of 14 Chinese nationals and injuries to six others. The initial trials for 23 defendants began last month.
Alongside combatting fraud, the SPC noted that it had also toughened penalties for crimes disrupting social order. In 2024, there were 49,000 cases of serious violent offenses involving 58,000 individuals, including murder cases, representing a 5.8 per cent decline from the previous year.
The report mentioned high-profile violent episodes, including a tragic incident in Zhuhai where 62-year-old Fan Weiqiu drove into a crowd, resulting in 35 fatalities, and a knife attack at a vocational school in Jiangsu perpetrated by 21-year-old Xu Jiajin, which claimed eight lives and left 17 injured. Both offenders received death sentences, highlighting the authorities’ dedication to ensuring public safety.
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China’s ongoing anti-corruption initiative also remained a central concern, with the SPC reporting the conclusion of about 30,000 cases involving embezzlement and bribery, implicating 33,000 individuals. This accounted for a 22.3 per cent increase from the previous year.
Notably, 48 ex-government officials were prosecuted, including former Guizhou party chief Sun Zhigang, who was sentenced to death for accepting bribes exceeding 813 million yuan (approximately $113.9 million).
The report also noted a rise in bribery cases within the football industry, with 2,473 cases involving 2,873 individuals, an 18.6 per cent increase from 2023. Enhanced collaboration across government agencies was cited as crucial in the anti-corruption campaign, with 27,000 misconduct cases transferred from supervisory commissions, leading to 24,000 prosecutions—up 37.8 per cent and 34.9 per cent, respectively, from the previous year.
Among those prosecuted were 34 officials at the provincial and ministerial level, including Liu Liange, the former chairman of the Bank of China, who received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve for bribery and improper loan issuance.