Six employees of leading local smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電), including vice president of product design Chien Chih-lin (簡志霖), were indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday on charges of leaking trade secrets and breach of trust.
Three of HTC’s suppliers were also indicted for alledgedly helping HTC design executives make false expense claims of more than NT$33 million (US$1.1 million).
Prosecutors said Chien and HTC research and development director Wu Chien-hung (吳建弘), both detained since Aug. 31, planned to open phone design companies in Taiwan and China. They were planning to cooperate with Chinese local governments to start companies and transfer HTC technology, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Chien stole and leaked key designs to his would-be Chinese business partners in Beijing in June. The designs were for a yet-to-be-unveiled HTC smartphone interface.
Chien’s actions were in violation of Article 13 of the Trade Secrets Act (營業秘密法) that bans stealing or unauthorized reproduction, revelation and use of key corporate business secrets, the indictment said.
The indictment added that Chien had colluded with Wu to defraud the company of NT$33.566 million by using fake invoices to inflate their expenses and by demanding rebates from HTC’s suppliers.
Prosecutors are seeking the maximum penalty for Chien, saying he showed no remorse during the investigation, putting forward specious arguments in an attempt to justify his illegal actions.
The other four employees who were indicted are HTC senior manager of design and innovation Huang Kuo-ching (黃國清), senior manager of design and innovation Huang Hung-yi (黃弘毅), manufacturing design department manager Hung Chung-yi (洪琮鎰) and Chen Shih-tsou (陳枻佐), a rank-and-file employee.
All of them, except Hung Chung-yi, confessed to breaking the law in a remorseful manner and the court should be lenient with them, prosecutors said.
In light of Huang Kuo-ching and Huang Hung-yi having settled their dispute with HTC and have been forgiven by the company, prosecutors recommended suspended sentences for the pair.
Prosecutors suggested lenient sentences for the three materials suppliers, saying they were remorseful and very cooperative during the investigation.
Meanwhile, Chien’s actions also constituted a breach of trust as stipulated in the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法), which carries a prison sentence ranging from three to 10 years.
The HTC case is the first of its kind since the Trade Secrets Act was revised earlier this year.
Under the revised law, the penalty for leaking corporate trade secrets to China or other countries is one to 10 years in prison and a fine of between NT$3 million and NT$50 million. If the illegal gains in a case surpass NT$50 million, the fine can be two to 10 times the amount of the gains.
“The company expects employees to observe and practice the highest levels of integrity and ethics,” HTC said in a statement. “Protecting the company’s proprietary and intellectual properties, privacy and security is a core fundamental responsibility of every employee. The company does not condone any violation.”
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS