Myanmar Proposes Death Sentence for Cyberscam Offences

Myanmar published a parliamentary bill on Thursday proposing the death sentence for those who detain or violently coerce victims into working in online scam centres. 

Internet fraud factories have flourished in war-torn Myanmar, part of Southeast Asia's thriving scam economy, targeting web users worldwide with romance and cryptocurrency investment cons. 

The multibillion-dollar black market attracts many willing employees, but repatriated foreigners have also reported being trafficked to sites in Myanmar and tortured by scam centre



operators.

The draft legislation would allow capital punishment for "violence, torture, unlawful arrest and detention, or cruel treatment against another person for the purpose of forcing them to commit online scams". 

The "Anti-Online Scam Bill" also includes a maximum sentence of life in prison for those who "run an online scam centre" and those who "commit digital currency scams (crypto scams)". Myanmar's military-backed parliament -- which many analysts describe as a rubber-stamp legislature -- is next scheduled to sit in the first week of June.