Three former officials from the Military Intelligence Bureau were yesterday sentenced to at least 10 months in prison after being found guilty of developing a spy ring and passing secret intelligence to China after their retirement.
The Taipei District Court sentenced retired colonel Chang Chao-jan (張超然) to 18 months in prison, while retired major general Yueh Chih-chung (岳志忠) and retired colonel Chou Tien-tzu (周天慈) were sentenced to 10 months and 14 months respectively.
The verdict can be appealed.
Photo: Chien Jung-feng, Taipei Times
Another retired colonel implicated in the case, Wang Ta-wang (王大旺), was found not guilty and acquitted due to a lack of evidence, the court said.
The four former military officers in February 2021 were indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of contravening the National Intelligence Service Act (國家情報工作法) and the National Security Act (國家安全法).
The charges included leaking information about Taiwan’s intelligence sources, organizations and personnel, and developing a spy ring on behalf of China.
Prosecutors alleged that Chang, Yueh and Chou were recruited by Chinese intelligence, which offered business incentives, cash rewards and free trips, after their retirement.
Chang was recruited when he traveled to China to help a former colleague who was arrested by the Chinese authorities in 1999, the indictment said.
He was then instructed to arrange trips for other retired military intelligence officers to visit China. These people would either be asked or “forced” to provide sensitive information.
Yueh, who was in charge of China-related intelligence work when working at the bureau, was recruited by Chang in 2012 when he wanted to visit relatives in China, but was worried about being arrested by the Chinese authorities because of his former work, prosecutors said.
Chang assured Yueh that he could return to Taiwan safely, as long as he gave intelligence information to a Chinese intelligence officer, which Yueh agreed to do.
Meanwhile, Chou was said to have begun working for the Chinese authorities after becoming involved in a real-estate dispute in China’s Hainan Province that year.
Wang was also suspected of having been recruited through Chang, and gave information about his colleagues during a trip to China, prosecutors said.
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