Father main suspect in spy case

The father of Liu Yueh-lun (劉岳龍), a petty officer first class in the navy who was arrested on June 5 on suspicion of spying, could be the main suspect in the case, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (調查局) said yesterday.

Liu Chen-kuo (劉禎國) graduated from the Army Academy and served as an army pilot until he retired in 1988, the bureau said in a statement.

He then went to China on business but was arrested by the Chinese police and detained for two years on charges of human smuggling, forging documents and illegally trading regulated antiques, the statement said.

Chinese secret service agents then coerced him to work as a spy, according to the bureau, and his son Liu Yueh-lun had been providing him with classified information since 2000.

The bureau also said that the elder Liu later gave his son a laptop computer and a digital camera provided by Chinese secret service agents, and asked his son to record classified military information and the navy's communication codes on CDs.

Liu Chen-kuo handed over the CDs to Chinese agents during trips to Hong Kong, Macau and China, the bureau said. He apparently received 30,000 yuan (NT$120,000) each time.

The bureau said that both military prosecutors and the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office (台灣高檢署) were investigating the case because one of the suspects is in the navy and the other a civilian.

"We believe there are other suspects working with them but the investigation is not complete," a senior official at the bureau said.

Investigators searched the home of Liu Chen-kuo in Tzukuan Township (梓官鄉), Kaohsiung County, yesterday but found nothing related to the case, they said.

"Liu Chen-kuo has not been cooperating with us," said Cheng Wen-kuei (鄭文貴), senior prosecutor at Kaohsiung branch of the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office, who led the search of Liu's home yesterday.

"For most questions, he just answers `I don't quite remember' or `I don't know.'"

News of the alleged spying emerged on Monday, with initial investigations by the navy suggesting that Liu Yueh-lun was leaking combat tactics of the No. 929 Shao Yang destroyer, on which he was serving.

The 23-year-old Liu Yueh-lun joined the military in 1997 after graduating from high school. He is a Taipei resident.

Both Lius were arrested by agents from the bureau and the Military Prosecutors' Office last Wednesday.