A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment.
Photo: Liu Yung-yun, Taipei Times
Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November 2023, when Chen was having financial difficulties, the indictment said.
Wang allegedly promised financial compensation in exchange for sensitive military information, it added.
Lee on Jan. 4, 2024, began training to become an officer, during which he had possession of classified course materials not publicly released by the military, it said.
After learning that Lee was still serving in the military, Chen met him on March 16, 2024, and told Lee that he was in contact with a Chinese operative and that Lee could earn money by photographing military materials, the indictment said.
Chen then introduced Lee to Wang over the messaging app WeChat, it said.
Wang allegedly offered to pay Lee twice his monthly salary, plus bonuses, for copying and handing over sensitive military information, but Lee declined the offer, it said.
Chen later again approached Lee for help, telling Lee he needed the course materials to receive payment from Wang, as Chen had debts to settle, and the two agreed to meet again on April 7, the indictment said.
At about 8pm that night, Chen and Lee met in a parking lot in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), where Chen used his mobile phone to photograph and collect the classified documents before sending the images to Wang, it said.
Chen on April 13 received US$2,500 in cryptocurrency from Wang, which he converted into NT$79,440 in cash, the indictment said.
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