3 active military officers indicted for leaking intelligence to China

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) Three active duty military officers and an alleged accomplice have been indicted on suspicion of leaking military intelligence to China, the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office Kaohsiung Branch said Wednesday.

The individuals were charged with violating the National Security Act, the Classified National Security Information Protection Act, the Anti-Corruption Act and Money Laundering Control Act, the office said in a statement.

The three active military officers in question are suspected of handing over intelligence, including Han Kuang military exercise information, to a man surnamed Huang (黃), who was believed to act as a go-between for the Chinese.

Huang is currently on the run, while his sister has also been indicted in the case, according to the statement.

Huang and his sister allegedly took orders from a Chinese agent to open up an illegal private bank in 2019 to loan money to military personnel and officers in urgent need of money, prosecutors said.

They then asked the military officers to collect and hand over intelligence to pay off their debts, according to the release.

The case was exposed when a source reported that officers from an Air Force surveillance warning center were leaking military secrets because they were unable to pay off their debts.

Prosecutors from the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office Kaohsiung Branch and Taiwan Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office searched 41 locations between December 2023 and September 2024 and requested that the suspects be detained, the release said.

Prosecutors said they indicted the suspects after reviewing the seized evidence, as well as probing into the suspects' communication records and bank transactions.