The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法).
His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today.
Photo: CNA
Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk.
Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor at a company, where he established a Taiwanese espionage network to leak military secrets, according to court documents.
Shih approached then-Air Force Air Intercept Controller Hsu Chan-cheng (許展誠) in 2021, claiming to have connections to the US military, and persuaded him to leak classified files in exchange for payment, which Shih delivered to his contacts in China.
Information leaked over the almost four-year partnership included the Air Force’s applications of Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles and deployments in response to Chinese military incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.
Shih received “company dividends” in compensation, worth more than NT$2.1 million (US$68,917) of which he transferred NT$200,000 to Hsu, the investigation found.
In August last year, the Taichung branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office launched a search operation, raiding Shih’s residence and indicting him and Hsu for contravening the National Security Act, the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法施行細則) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪汙治罪條例) in December.
Prosecutors requested the pair’s detention incommunicado, which was approved.
Both Shih and Hsu confessed during interrogation and were indicted under the Anti-Corruption Act and the National Security Act, with the case transferred to the Taichung branch of the High Court.
Shih was later released on bail of NT$100,000 while Hsu remained in detention incommunicado.
In March, the Taichung High Court ruled that Shih had violated two counts of the National Security Act, sentencing him to ten months and two years and two months imprisonment, respectively, ruling that he is to serve a combined sentence of two years and six months.
Shih’s illicit gains were confiscated.
Both the prosecutors and Shih appealed the ruling, with the Supreme Court today partially rejecting the appeals, finalizing the two-year, two-month sentence ruling and remanding the ten-month sentence for retrial.
The charges against Hsu have been transferred to the Taichung District Court due to jurisdiction issues.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS