The Kaohsiung branch of the High Court today sentenced a former member of the coast guard to seven years and eight months in prison for leaking national and military secrets to China for almost two years, earning more than NT$580,000 (US$18,403) in criminal proceeds.
The defendant, surnamed Lee (李), was suspended after the case came to light, the Coast Guard Administration said, adding that he later resigned.
Lee had served as a member of the coast guard’s southern fleet branch since 2022, the court said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
Lured by a Chinese national named Tony, Lee from Sept. 10, 2022, to July 2024 used his phone to record state and military secrets, documents and other confidential records, the court said.
Over a period of one year and 10 months, he sent the records to Tony via messaging apps in exchange for 18,522 Tether coins (US$18,513), it said.
Although driven by his family’s financial needs, Lee’s actions endangered national security and damaged public morale in the defense of freedom and democracy, the court said.
The court found him guilty of breaching his duties by accepting bribes and intentionally endangering national security by delivering confidential documents, electronic records and state secrets to China.
The court said it considered that Lee had confessed and turned over all of the proceeds from his crimes, as well as the content of the leaked secrets and the damage to national security, when sentencing him.
The decision is subject to appeal.
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