The Taipei District Court yesterday morning ordered an agent and a former agent of the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau (MJIB) detained on suspicion of spying for China.
Lin Yu-nung (林羽農), 54, from the bureau's Department of Economic Crime Prevention, and former agent Chen Chih-kao (陳志高), 55, were arrested by bureau agents on Sunday morning as the pair met to exchange confidential documents at the Brother Hotel in Taipei.
Taipei prosecutors said the pair would be charged with corruption, violations of the National Security Law (國家安全法) and the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法).
DENIALS
The court said the pair denied any involvement in spying.
The MJIB said Chen left the bureau in August 1997 and became a businessman in China.
He ran a commercial travel magazine in Shanghai, officials from the bureau said.
They said because Chen's business was not doing well, the Shanghai intelligence bureau had enticed him to work for it in exchange for cash.
Chen, who had become friendly with Lin when the pair trained to become agents, resumed contact with Lin two years ago and allegedly offered him cash in exchange for intelligence. The pair had met many times in Taipei, officials said.
Lin initially came under suspicion in 2005 after colleagues had noted certain abnormalities in his daily activities. A special task force was established to track his movements, and his access to classified information was restricted.
The MJIB said Chen was followed by agents when he returned to Taipei from Shanghai on Thursday.
MEETING
On Friday evening Chen and Lin met in a tea shop near the headquarters of the MJIB and Chen gave Lin US$3,000 in cash.
Bureau officials said because Lin did not hand any documents to Chen on that occasion, MJIB investigators did not arrest the pair.
On Sunday morning the pair met at a coffee shop in the Brother Hotel and Lin handed some documents to Chen. Lin also signed a receipt for Chen to prove he had received US$3,000 from him.
Investigators then arrested the pair, officials said.
The bureau said Lin had been suspended from his position.
The bureau is responsible for tracking Chinese intelligence operations against Taiwan, as well as drug prevention and other national police functions.
Additional reporting by AP and CNA
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