《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Supreme Court upholds ruling on double agents

By Jason Pan / Staff reporter

The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a ruling to imprison two Military Intelligence Bureau officers on charges of espionage and leaking classified information.

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The High Court in September last year sentenced Major Wang Tsung-wu （王宗武） to 18 years in prison and Colonel Lin Han （林翰） to six years in prison.

The men appealed the decision, but the Supreme Court yesterday ruled that the defendants caused severe damage to national security and rejected their appeal.

The Supreme Court’s ruling is final.

The ruling upheld the guilty verdict against the two for violating the National Intelligence Services Act （國家情報工作法） by engaging in the serious crimes of “spying for an enemy state,” “leaking military secrets” and “receiving bribes in breach of official duties.”

Combined with his other convictions, Wang’s total jail term came to 74 years and six months, but the court ruled that he will serve them concurrently, reducing his effective sentence to 18 years.

The bureau sent Wang as an intelligence agent to China on covert missions at least four times from 1992 to 1994, but his cover was blown and he was recruited by Chinese intelligence in 1995.

Prosecutors said Wang was ordered to develop a spy network in Taiwan, and after his return to the bureau he recruited Lin, who had been at the Republic of China Military Academy with him.

Wang and Lin sold the names of bureau agents operating in China and other classified information to their Chinese handlers, which enabled Chinese intelligence to monitor Taiwanese agents’ activities in China and put their lives at risk, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Lin admitted to accepting money from Chinese sources and receiving all-expenses-paid trips to Southeast Asian nations, as well as Singapore and Macau.

They received about US$100,000 each from their Chinese handlers for delivering the names of bureau agents and other classified military information, prosecutors said.

The two also each received a “basic salary” of between US$10,000 and US$30,000 per month from China during their time working for the bureau, where they also collected wages and benefits from the Taiwanese government.

During the investigation, Wang admitted to spying for China and passing on classified materials, as well as recruiting Lin to gain access to restricted documents.

In his defense, Wang said he had no choice but to cooperate with Chinese agents, as he was exposed and feared for his life.

Lin admitted to receiving money for passing documents to Wang, but said he did not disclose any secrets risking national security, because China had already obtained some of the materials.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES