Supreme Court finalizes ex-servicemen spying case with maximum 7-year term

Taipei, Dec. 5 (CNA) The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the prison terms of three former servicemen convicted of leaking sensitive military information to China, finalizing all sentences in a high-profile espionage case involving personnel assigned to Presidential Office security.

The rulings complete the case, as a fourth defendant, former military police officer Lin Yu-kai (林裕凱), had already withdrawn his appeal earlier in the process, making his five-year-and-10-month sentence final. He has since begun serving his term.

The three whose sentences were finalized Thursday -- Chen Wen-hao (陳文豪), Li Yu-erh (黎育爾) and Lai Chung-yu (賴重宇) -- received prison terms ranging from six years and five months to seven years for violating the National Security Act and Anti-Corruption Act.

According to the verdict, the four accepted payments ranging from NT$265,900 (US$8,500) to NT$664,100 between 2022 and 2024 to photograph and relay sensitive internal documents from the 211th Military Police Battalion, which guards the Presidential Office, and from the Ministry of National Defense's (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command.

The information was passed through a Taiwanese middleman surnamed Huang (黃), who remains at large. Lai and Chen began leaking documents in April 2022. After Lai was reassigned, Li took over the role, later handing it to Lin after retiring.

In the first trial, the Taipei District Court sentenced Lai to seven years in prison, Chen to six years and five months, Li to six years and eight months, and Lin to five years and 10 months, describing their actions as a serious breach of duty.

On appeal, the Taiwan High Court reduced Li's term by one month for returning all illicit gains and cooperating with investigators, but upheld the other sentences.

All four were indicted by prosecutors in December 2024 on national security and corruption charges, after the MND received a tip-off from a soldier.