TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A father and son who enticed active military officers to pass on secret information about the annual Han Kuang drills to China face eight years in prison, reports said Friday (Aug. 30).
The sentences became definite after the Supreme Court rejected final appeals Thursday (Aug. 29). The two suspects, surnamed Huang (黃), first came into contact with Chinese intelligence officials in 2015 when they were doing business in Xiamen, per CNA.
Back in Taiwan, they recruited two officers in separate air defense and missile units, Yeh (葉) and Su (蘇). After having them sign documents promising allegiance to the cause, they sent the two recruits for their spy ring on a trip overseas to meet Chinese officials.
A total of eight secret documents about the Han Kuang exercises fell into the group’s hands. They delivered the information personally to China or sent images and graphics by phone messaging software.
The Huangs received NT$1.71 million (US$53,600) for their efforts, while Yeh was paid NT$210,000 and Su NT$100,000, prosecutors said. The Tainan branch of the Taiwan High Court ruled in April the evidence was clear that the Huangs had broken the National Security Act, the Classified National Security Information Protection Act, and anti-corruption legislation.
The court ordered the confiscation of the profits and sentenced the Huangs to eight years in prison each, Yeh to seven years, and Su to six years.
While the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected appeals against the prison terms for father and son Huang, it revoked the verdicts for Yeh and Su, ordering the High Court to conduct a new trial.
