The High Court in a second ruling yesterday found three former military officers involved in intelligence gathering and analysis guilty of embezzlement and forgery for inventing fake Chinese assets.
The verdict is not final.
Lieutenant Colonel Su Hsin-ming (蘇薪名), Colonel Chiang Fang-yu (江芳瑜) and Lieutenant Colonel Hsu Chih-hsin (徐之心) were convicted of manufacturing fake intelligence to claim bonuses and operational expenses between 2016 and last year, the court said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Su, a former member of the Ministry of National Defense’s Communication Development Office, was sentenced to six years and four months in prison. He surrendered NT$10.53 million (US$329,392) in illicit gains.
Chiang and Hsu, formerly members of the Military Intelligence Bureau, were handed four years and eight months, and two years in prison respectively. They surrendered NT$5.69 million and NT$100,000 in illegal proceeds.
Their behavior was a betrayal of their duty as military service members and caused significant harm to national security, the High Court said in the verdict.
However, the High Court’s judgement resulted in a reduction in the trio’s sentences.
The Shilin District Court earlier this year handed Su a prison sentence of 15 years and two months, Chiang five years and 11 months, and Hsu two years and eight months. The three appealed the ruling.
The High Court in the second ruling yesterday said that the sentences given to Chiang and Hsu must be reduced, as the latter’s judgement would have been clouded by an older and more lenient version of the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法).
Meanwhile, Chiang’s good professional performance before the crime, and the financial burden of raising two children and caring for her mother, who has cancer, are mitigating circumstances under the then-effective version of the law, the High Court said.
Hsu also showed remorse by giving the bulk of the bonus to Su and severing all contact with the man, it said.
Su was the mastermind of the scheme and its main beneficiary, but since he was cooperative during questioning, it was reduced, it added.
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