After a month of investigations, the prosecutors' office of eastern Taiwan's military district court yesterday announced it has issued a warrant for army officer Wang Yi-hung's (王宜宏) arrest on a charge of defecting to China.
It revoked at the same time a previous warrant for Wang on a charge of desertion.
The change means that military prosecutors handling the case have amassed enough evidence to charge Wang with defection, a crime that carries the death penalty.
Wang, who is the political warfare chief of the army's 34th Hawk missile company based in Hualien, flew to China on Oct. 7 from Thailand with his wife and baby girl.
Wang's trip to Thailand had not been approved by his direct superiors.
Wang was alleged to have forged travel documents for his trip to Thailand, investigations by the army showed. He took advantage of leave between Sept. 15 an Sept. 25 to make the trip and was not discovered to have left until he failed to return to his unit. After visiting Thailand, Wang and his family took a flight to Beijing.
The army was unable at first to determine whether Wang's entry into China was a defection and chose to temporarily categorize the case as desertion, which carries a weaker penalty.
Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
Tang said the ministry would give Wang one month to return to Taiwan.
Eastern Taiwan's military district court's prosecutors' office issued an order for Wang's arrest on charges of desertion on Nov. 7, one month after Wang's flight to China.
Lieutenant Colonel Lin Chen-kung (林成功), a prosecutor with the military district court, said evidence they have collected conclusively indicates that Wang has defected to China.
"Information shows that, while still in Thailand, Wang contacted Chinese authorities before flying to Beijing," Lin said.
"We know Wang is still in China. We hope he can return to Taiwan as soon as possible. If he does return, we will listen to his side of the story," Lin said.
Wang had alleged through his brother that he had been wronged by his superiors for certain financial affairs at the unit and Lin hinted that as long as Wang returns to Taiwan, the military is willing to launch a full investigation into the affair.
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