Investigators yesterday detained an army major for alleged espionage for China after an all-day interrogation. The case was the third in two months.
Pai Chin-yang (
He was educated in Hong Kong and arrived in Taiwan in 1983, then recruited in the same year by the BMI, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a press release last night.
The MND said that the BMI had known that Pai had lost a lot of money speculating on the stock market last year.
"Pai indulged in an opportunistic business and his lack of discipline led to credit bankruptcy," the MND said.
An investigation found that Pai improved his financial situation at the beginning of this year after a trip to Thailand where he established contact with Beijing, according to the statement.
Pai went to Australia in September and expanded his connections within the military afterwards. The BMI primed the MND and the Investigation Bureau for a possible investigation into the major, the MND said.
The BMI referred the investigation to the military supreme court last month after collecting evidence indicating that Pai had leaked confidential information, the press release said.
"Prosecutors with the military court interrogated Pai today, discovering that Pai had been recruited by Chinese intelligence and committed the offence of leaking state secrets," the MND release said.
The MND confirmed that Pai had been detained after his interrogation.
Pai is the third spy to have been uncovered by the defense ministry in two months. His detention came two days after Huang Cheng-an (黃正安), an employee at the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), was detained on suspicion of passing information on the production of a smart bomb to China.
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