ASEAN Beat | Security | Southeast Asia

Alleged Cambodia Scam Kingpin Chen Zhi Could Face the Death Penalty in China

Myanmar follows Beijing’s lead in amending anti-scam laws as crime syndicates shift operations.

Chen Zhi, the chairman of Prince Holding Group, as seen in a publicity photo on the conglomerate’s website.

China knows how to send a stern message and the word out of Beijing this week will reverberate across the region, particularly in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. Chen Zhi, the founder and chairman of Cambodia’s Prince Group and alleged mastermind of the country’s scam compound industry, just might be executed.

Authorities have beefed-up Chen’s charge sheet since his deportation in January from Cambodia to China, where he is facing prosecution – adding intentionally inflicting bodily injury.

If that causes death or severe injury especially through cruel means then under Chinese criminal law, it is punishable by a minimum jail term of 10 years and – ultimately – the death penalty.

The 38-year-old was also charged with copyright infringement and a previous count of concealing criminal proceeds was dropped, Chinese business magazine Caixin reported. That obviously pales against a possible death sentence, a penalty this journalist is opposed to, but Beijing has well flagged the risks.

On January 29, Xinhua announced that China had executed 11 members of the “Ming family criminal group” for crimes that included “intentional homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud and [running a] casino establishment” through scam compounds in territories along the China-Myanmar border.

In Naypyidaw, the Myanmar military junta’s civil administration has followed suit and just approved amendments to its Anti-Online Scam Bill that confirms 10 years to life for the running of scam compounds and human trafficking networks, Agence France-Press reported.

The agency also confirmed that the death sentence can be administered for “violence, torture, unlawful arrest and detention, or cruel treatment against another person for the purpose of forcing them to commit online scams.”

Myanmar became synonymous with scam compounds after Chinese crime syndicates expanded their operations out of Cambodia and along Myanmar’s eastern border with Thailand, where small cities emerged around casino hubs in places like Shwe Kokko.

But word from the border has been consistent ever........

© The Diplomat