The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the jail sentences for four former servicemembers who were found guilty of passing information to Chinese intelligence in exchange for bribes totaling NT$1.84 million (US$58,865).
In the final verdict, Lai Chung-yu (賴重宇) was sentenced to seven years in prison, Li Yu-erh (黎育爾) received six years and seven months, Chen Wen-hao (陳文豪) six years and five months, and Lin Yu-kai (林裕凱) five years and 10 months.
Lai, Li and Lin were assigned to the 211th Military Police Battalion, which guards the Presidential Office Building, while Chen served in the Ministry of National Defense’s Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command.
Photo: Wang Ting-chuan, Taipei Times
The four men betrayed the nation after years of training and service in highly sensitive roles, the Supreme Court said.
They took bribes from Chinese intelligence in exchange for internal information from the Presidential Office and the military, and endangered national security, it added.
Lai and Chen began passing information to Chinese intelligence in April 2022, while they were still in the military, the indictment said.
They were allegedly recruited and paid by a Taiwanese man surnamed Huang (黃), who remains at large.
Initially, Chen was the one taking photographs of internal documents, which Lai then handed to Huang or a Chinese operative, the indictment said.
Lai later also photographed documents himself, but was caught and reassigned, it added.
After getting transferred, Lai recruited Li to photograph documents, the indictment said, adding that Li passed the task on to Lin before retiring in February last year.
Prosecutors estimated Lai received NT$460,000, while Chen, Li and Lin got NT$450,000, NT$664,100 and NT$265,900 respectively.
All illegal proceeds were confiscated, and all four men confessed during the investigation and trial.
The High Court in August handed them prison terms ranging from five years and 10 months to seven years for bribery, breach of duty and leaking confidential government documents under the National Security Act (國家安全法).
The Supreme Court upheld the verdicts, which are final.
Lin withdrew his appeal during the Supreme Court proceedings and was transferred to prison to begin serving his term.
Lai, Li and Chen are in custody, and are expected to be moved to prison soon.
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
PENTAGON ASSESSMENT: A US report said that even as China and Russia deepen their partnership, cooperation is hindered by a ‘mutual distrust’ of each other The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as of October had doubled the number of ships and airplanes deployed around Taiwan compared with the previous two years, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) said yesterday, a day after the opposition-controlled legislature voted against reviewing the government’s general budget for next year, including a NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.71 billion) special defense spending bill. The legislature’s vote against the Ministry of National Defense’s spending plans was regrettable, as the budget was designed to respond to the developing Chinese military threat, Hsu said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting on the general budget. Defense
RSS