Myanmar Passes Law for Death Penalty in Forced Scam Labor, Life for Crypto Fraud

Myanmar's military-backed parliament approved a law allowing the death penalty for individuals who use violence or unlawful detention to force others into online scams. If such actions result in the victim's death, the death penalty will be imposed. The law also establishes life imprisonment for those running online scam centers or committing crypto scams, with coercion offenses carrying sentences of 10 years to life. Lower house MP Aye Chan confirmed that the death penalty remained in the final version of the bill. This legislation marks the first law passed by the government of Min Aung Hlaing, who assumed office as civilian president in April 2023 after leading a coup in 2021. The parliament consists of 166 military-reserved seats and 339 seats won by the USDP in elections that Aung San Suu Kyi's party could not contest. Myanmar resumed judicial executions in 2022, executing four activists, the first since 1976. Min Aung Hlaing had previously commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment shortly after taking office.