The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted two active-duty soldiers and a civilian for allegedly selling classified military documents to a Chinese espionage ring, urging the court to impose heavy sentences against the soldiers.
A 22-year-old army sergeant surnamed Su (蘇), a 19-year-old private surnamed Tsai (蔡) and a 23-year-old civilian surnamed Wang (王) were charged with breaching the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例), the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
Su enlisted as a volunteer soldier in September 2023 and served as an infantry squad leader, while Tsai was conscripted in June last year and serves as an infantry private, prosecutors said.
Photo: CNA
In March, Tsai introduced Su to a man surnamed Huang (黃), who is wanted for contravening the National Security Act, prosecutors said.
After learning that the soldiers needed money, Huang, acting on behalf of Chinese intelligence, offered them cash in exchange for classified military information, the office said.
Tsai recruited Wang, who was in need of money, to help Su collect internal military documents and electronic records, it said.
Tsai told Wang to provide his family’s information as collateral to the ring to ensure Wang would not abscond with the illicit gains or leave the conspiracy, prosecutors added.
Su and Tsai used their smartphones to photograph internal military documents, including training and operational details, personnel records and other official military data, which they transmitted to Huang via messaging applications, receiving NT$2,000 in cryptocurrency as payment, prosecutors said.
Later in March, Huang requested classified materials relating to missile design, operational plans, the annual Han Kuang military exercises, weapon operation manuals and internal management protocols, offering rewards of NT$200,000 to NT$500,000 to Su and Tsai respectively, they said.
However, the deal fell through, as the soldiers’ unit did not possess such high-level classified information, prosecutors said.
The scheme was uncovered after their unit noticed suspicious activities and reported the matter, they said.
Following an investigation, authorities conducted searches, arrested the three men and successfully applied to a court to have them detained incommunicado.
After concluding the investigation, prosecutors requested that the court impose heavy sentences on Su and Tsai, saying that as active-duty military personnel, they had severely compromised national security for personal financial gain.
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