Two executives from chip designer VIA Technologies Inc (威盛電子) appeared in court yesterday and denied charges that they sent an employee to steal software coding from a local tech firm.
Prosecutors have accused VIA chairwoman Cher Wang (王雪紅) and her husband, Wenchi Chen (陳文琦), the firm's president, of sending the employee to work at D-Link Corp (友訊科技) to swipe chip-testing simulation software.
At the Taipei District Court, Wang told reporters that D-Link is a client, not a rival, and that VIA couldn't possibly steal from a customer. Her father is Wang Yung-ching (王永慶), who leads Taiwan's largest manufacturing conglomerate, Formosa Plastics Group (台塑).
Her husband told reporters: "There were a few coincidences and misunderstandings, but we definitely did not do anything wrong."
Jeffrey Chang (張至皓), the employee accused of spying, also testified that he didn't steal, court officials said. Chang worked for D-Link for about two years before returning to VIA in August 2001.
If guilty, Wang and Chen could be sentenced to four years in prison, while Chang could be sentenced to three years, court officials said.
Wang Shu-wen, a D-Link official, said the company detected the alleged crime shortly after Chang quit the firm in August 2001, but she said that the firm had only wanted to take action against Chang.
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