China's top court on Friday asked all judges to severely punish those perpetrating fraud through use of telecom or network technology, following the deaths of two students who were swindled in August.

The number of residents scammed by telecom fraudsters has been growing rapidly in recent years, "which not only brings economic losses to them, but also makes them unsafe", said Wang Ling, a spokesperson for the Supreme People's Court.

Wang did not release the precise number of fraud cases heard, but in March the top court said thousands of fraud-related disputes were filed and tackled in courts last year.