TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A former colonel in Taiwan’s Army who was caught promising to surrender if China attacked, has been sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for spying for the communist country, reports said Friday (Feb. 24).

Hsiang Te-en (向德恩) returned the NT$560,000 ($18,000) he received from China for his efforts, while appeals against the Kaohsiung District Court verdict for corruption were still possible, the Liberty Times reported.

After a divorce in 2018, Hsiang was persuaded by a retired journalist, Shao Wei-chiang (邵維強), to stay in the military and provide him with information about China in return for a monthly payment of NT$40,000. Shao ran a travel agency on the offshore island of Kinmen, close to China’s Fujian Province.

At his request, Hsiang signed two statements, in October 2019 and January 2020, promising to cooperate with the Chinese military. Shao also supplied him with a list of senior officers he should be collecting confidential information about.

According to the Liberty Times report, Shao’s case will be handled by the Kinmen Prosecutors Office in relation to the National Security Act and bribery charges.