The Supreme Court has upheld lower court prison sentences for two retired members of the army who were found guilty of attempting to collect military intelligence for China.
Its ruling is final.
The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court’s sentencing of a former staff sergeant, surnamed Wu (吳), and a former private, surnamed Tsou (鄒), to 22 and 20 months in prison, respectively, for violating the Criminal Code of the armed forces.
Photo: Chang Wen-chuan, Taipei
It rejected appeals made by the defendants and the prosecutors, explaining that the previous ruling by the High Court’s Tainan branch did not have any errors.
When Wu and Tsou served at the Guandu Area Command, they came into contact with Liu (劉), a person thought to be affiliated with Chinese intelligence, in 2003 and 2012, respectively, according to the verdict.
Under Liu’s instructions, the two men collected Taiwanese military secrets in exchange for substantial compensation, the Supreme Court said.
In April 2013, Wu used military computers to download 135 classified files, including those related to Han Kuang drills and anti-infiltration operations, and joined with Tsou in handing the information over to Liu, it said.
However, because there was no direct evidence showing that the information was delivered to Chinese agents, Wu and Tsou’s actions were deemed as attempted offenses, it said.
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