Supreme Court upholds ex-military officer's China spying sentence

Taipei, April 7 (CNA) A retired lieutenant colonel who unsuccessfully tried to recruit intelligence assets for China has had a five-year, four-month prison sentence upheld by Taiwan's Supreme Court.

According to the court's April 1 ruling, Kung Fan-chia (孔繁嘉) met multiple times with People's Liberation Army intelligence operative Yang Libo (楊歷波) during overseas trips between 2006 and 2008 while serving as an active-duty officer with the Ministry of National Defense's Military News Agency.

The trips were arranged and paid for by former Taiwanese Army officer Shao Wei-chiang (邵維強), who died in June last year while serving a 12-and-a-half-year sentence for violations of the National Security Act and the Banking Act, through Shao's Kinmen-based Safety Travel Service Co., the court said.

During his meetings with Yang, Kung agreed to help develop a spy network among active and retired military personnel, receiving thousands of U.S. dollars in exchange, according to the court.

After retiring in 2012, Kung continued to receive payments from Chinese officials and attempted to invite military personnel to travel to China or third countries to facilitate contact.

In one case, an active-duty officer declined the invitation, while in another, a retired serviceman did not follow through.

In June last year, Kung's initial sentence of five years and six months for breaches of the Anti-Corruption Act and National Security Act was reduced to five years and four months by the High Court, citing his confession and return of illicit gains.

The Supreme Court rejected the prosecutors' appeal, saying the lower court's ruling and sentence were appropriate. The verdict is final.