Myanmar's parliament, backed by the military, has passed a new online crime law prescribing the maximum penalty of "death" for those who detain, use violence against, or torture victims to force them to work in call center and online scam gangs, including cases resulting in death, aiming to reduce international pressure, especially from China and the United States.
Myanmar's parliament, supported by the military-led government, approved an anti-online fraud bill imposing the death penalty on those who kidnap, detain, torture, or use violence to compel individuals to work in online scam centers or call center gangs.
This legislation is the first under the new government with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as president, who took office in April following an election heavily criticized internationally for lacking freedom and fairness.
Aung Lin Dwei, Speaker of Myanmar's Parliament, announced the bill's passage during a live broadcast from Naypyidaw, while Member of Parliament Ai Chan revealed that the death penalty remains in the final version, with key points largely unchanged from the draft published in May.
The bill sets prison terms ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment or death for those who use violence, torture, detain, or cruelly treat others to force them into committing online fraud crimes.
Furthermore, if such actions cause death, the offender will face the death penalty. Operators or managers of online scam centers, as well as offenders involved in cryptocurrency fraud, may face life imprisonment at maximum.
Over the years, Myanmar has become a key hub for online scam networks in Southeast Asia, especially in border areas where criminal groups deceive victims worldwide through romance scams, fake investments, and cryptocurrency fraud.
Although the industry attracts many willing workers, thousands of foreigners have been tricked or trafficked into Myanmar's call centers, where they are detained, physically abused, and forced to deceive victims online.
The Myanmar government faces pressure from various countries, especially China and the United States, to accelerate the crackdown on these criminal networks due to their global impact on people.
However, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently reported that enforcement efforts by Myanmar and other countries have not ended call center operations but have caused criminals to relocate, particularly to Cambodia and border areas of Myanmar and Laos.
The report also states that criminal networks originating from China remain the main force managing large online scam centers in Myanmar’s special economic zones and border areas of Cambodia and Laos, with some non-state armed groups in Myanmar's conflict zones also involved in these crimes.
Previously, major online scam centers like KK Park and Chwe Kok Ko near the Thai border were repeatedly raided by authorities, leading some operators to move their bases to Cambodia instead.
Naw Yusana Wah, a Myanmar senator, acknowledged that crackdowns face many obstacles due to involvement by multiple armed groups and organizations connected to this illegal business.
Min Aung Hlaing led the 2021 coup that overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering a civil war ongoing to date and causing over 100,000 deaths according to various monitoring organizations.
Although after becoming president, Min Aung Hlaing announced a reduction in all death sentences in April, the new law reinstates the death penalty for online scam gang offenses, reflecting the government's tough stance on the expanding regional cybercrime problem.
/sourceAFP