In one of the most prominent spy cases of the past few decades, Major Wang Tsung-wu (王宗武), who worked as a double agent for China for 10 years and passed on classified material, including about the nation’s espionage networks and operatives in China, had his prison sentence reduced from 74 years to 18 years yesterday by the High Court.
A former officer at the Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB), Wang received the reduced term because “he had confessed to the crime and cooperated during the investigation... and had paid back NT$2.98 million [US$94,904], which was the amount he received from the Chinese authorities,” a High Court statement said yesterday.
The ruling can still be appealed.
The High Court ruling sparked outrage online, with a netizen condemning the judges for “handing down a lenient sentence to a traitor who betrayed the nation and its citizens.”
“Wang should receive the death sentence, but the judges reduced the sentence and allowed him to move around freely while on bail. Why does the judiciary always go lightly on turncoat spies who sold out our nation?” another netizen wrote.
The case also resulted in the conviction of Colonel Lin Han (林翰), who was handed a reduced six-year prison term and ordered to pay back his ill-gotten financial gain of NT$2.4 million.
Lin also worked as an officer at the MIB, which is tasked with espionage activities and intelligence-gathering, mainly against China.
Wang and Lin were found guilty of passing on highly classified intelligence materials to Chinese authorities and providing the identities of Taiwanese agents in China.
The two former officers were convicted of “conducting espionage activities for an enemy state” and related provisions under the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法), and for “leaking state secrets” and “receiving bribes in breach of official duties” under the Criminal Code.
Wang had carried out covert missions in China at least four times in the 1990s, but his cover was blown and he was recruited by the Chinese intelligence agency in 1995.
He agreed to work as a double agent until his retirement in 2005.
After he retired, Wang recruited Lin, a fellow MIB officer who had been a colleague at the military academy.
Lin was a telecommunications specialist and he worked in the unit responsible for intelligence-gathering and was therefore familiar with Taiwan’s espionage operations against China.
He retired in 2013.
Wang and Lin were arrested last year after an investigation uncovered their spy network.
They were paid between US$10,000 to US$30,000 for each batch of classified material during trips the two men took to Macau and other Southeast Asian cities to meet with Chinese intelligence officers.
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