TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A former Chinese navy officer who arrived at the mouth of the Tamsui River in a motorboat in June was sentenced to eight months in prison Wednesday (Sept. 18).

Appeals against the verdict by the Shilin District Court are still possible. The suspect, surnamed Ruan (阮), 60, did not appear in court.

The court found him guilty of illegal entry, the Liberty Times reported. He traveled from the Chinese province of Fujian by speedboat and arrived at Tamsui ferry pier in New Taipei 12 hours after his departure, on June 9.

Ruan claimed he wanted to escape the communist-ruled country and claim political asylum in Taiwan. When he was detained, he told police the authorities in China had found news items critical of the government when they looked at his phone in May.

China had ordered him to delete the items from the phone and restricted his movements, barring him from leaving the country, he said. During his court case, he reportedly handed over a drawing of Chinese naval positions along the Fujian coast.

Investigators in Taiwan found Ruan had once served as a captain in the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

The verdict came less than a week after another Chinese man arrived in Taiwan’s Linkou by inflatable boat after a trip from Ningbo. The coast guard said that due to its small size and slow speed, it had been difficult for radar to spot the intruder.