The Supreme Court earlier this month rejected the appeal of Kung Fan-chia (孔繁嘉), a former lieutenant colonel and news desk deputy chief of the Military News Agency, finalizing his five-year, four-month sentence for attempting to recruit spies for China.
The Taoyuan District Court in July 2024 sentenced Kung to five years and six months in prison after he pleaded guilty.
In June, the High Court reduced the sentence to five years and four months.
Photo: Chang Wen-chuan, Taipei Times
The High Court judges said Kung had not initially sought to recruit spies, but had waited until after leaving active service, while pleading guilty and returning all illicit gains.
Kung used sponsored trips and other incentives to recruit active-duty and retired military personnel as he developed a group tasked with obtaining military secrets for China, although his efforts were unsuccessful, the High Court said.
It found Kung guilty of bribery under the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) and one count under the National Security Act (國家安全法).
He was initially recruited by officials from China’s Xiamen operating under the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, the High Court said in a statement last year.
In November 2006 and April 2008, he accepted US$6,000 and US$5,700 respectively to invite active-duty and retired military personnel to visit China or third locations on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, it said.
Kung retired on Aug. 17, 2012, but received 60,000 yuan (US$8,718 at the current exchange rate) from his Chinese handlers from 2014 to 2016, it said.
He continued to attempt to recruit personnel until the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, it added.
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