Three Sentenced to Death as China Hands Down First-Instance Verdicts in Myanmar Wei Family Crime Group Case Involving Over 12.2 Billion Yuan in Gambling and Fraud Funds
Quanzhou — Courts in Fujian Province handed down first-instance verdicts on October 13, 2026, in the series of cases against the Wei family criminal group based in Myanmar's Kokang region, according to CCTV News. The Quanzhou Intermediate People's Court and the Nan'an People's Court sentenced Wei Huairen, Chen Dawei and Liao Jingfang to death; sentenced Wei Qingtao, Kang Min and Xiong Hengxing to life imprisonment; and sentenced 55 other defendants, including Su Hongxiang, Deng Zida and Chen Longjiang, to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from twenty-four years to three years and three months, along with additional penalties including fines, confiscation of property and deportation. Deputies to people's congresses, members of the political consultative conference, family members of the parties and members of the public attended the sentencing.
The courts found that, beginning in 2019, a criminal group headed by Wei Huairen and Wei Qingsong (handled in a separate case), with close subordinate Chen Longjiang and armed-force leaders Cha Guicheng and Yan Longdi (both handled separately) as key members, together with the Henry Group headed by Wei Rong, Wei Qinghai (handled separately) and Wei Qingtao, with family member Su Hongxiang and close subordinate Deng Zida as key members, used the Wei family's influence in Myanmar's Kokang region and relied on armed forces controlled by the family to set up multiple criminal compounds in Laukkai. The groups recruited numerous financial backers ("sponsors") to move in, provided them with armed protection, and themselves committed — or jointly committed with the backers — telecom and online fraud, casino operation, extortion, organizing prostitution, drug trafficking and organizing illegal border crossings, involving more than 12.2 billion yuan in gambling and fraud funds.
The courts further found that the Wei family criminal group, together with telecom fraud gangs in the compounds, killed fraud workers who refused to submit to management, causing the deaths of two Chinese citizens, and that family member Chen Dawei used the armed forces under his control to kill at will, causing the deaths of two more Chinese citizens.
The two courts held that Wei Huairen, Wei Qingtao and the other defendants organized, led or participated in a criminal group to commit crimes, constituting seven offenses including intentional homicide and fraud, and imposed the sentences according to the facts, nature and circumstances of each defendant's crimes and their harm to society.
(Source: CCTV News, October 13, 2026)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：福建省泉州市区实景（本案由泉州市中级人民法院等审理宣判）。摄影：Windmemories，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
