Former Defense Minister Lee Tien-yu dies at 79

Taipei, Dec. 12 (CNA) Lee Tien-yu (李天羽), who served as defense minister under former President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), has died at the age of 79.

According to Taiwan's military and media reports, Lee died from pneumonia and other complications at the Tri-Service General Hospital in Taipei Thursday morning.

No wake or public memorial service is planned for Lee, and his ashes will be interred at a military cemetery in the Bitan area of Xindian District, New Taipei, the military said.

Born in Shandong province, China, in 1946, Lee came to Taiwan with his father during the Kuomintang government's retreat to the island.

A graduate of the Republic of China (ROC) Air Force Academy, Lee survived three plane crashes while serving as an active-duty pilot, parachuting to safety each time, local media reported.

He later rose up the ranks to become commander-in-chief of the Air Force, chief of the general staff, and military strategy advisor to the president.

During his tenure as commander-in-chief of the Air Force in the early 2000s, he led the mission to transition to second-generation fighter jets, including the Mirage 2000s, Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDF), and F-16s.

In May 2007, Lee was appointed to lead the Ministry of National Defense (MND) by then-President Chen of the Democratic Progressive Party.

However, Lee lasted less than a year in the role, resigning in February 2008 over the establishment of Taiwan Goal, a controversial private arms firm in which the MND was the largest shareholder.

At the time, Lee said he had not "properly" handled the setting up of Taiwan Goal, which was dissolved in the wake of his departure.

In 2012, Lee was one of several retired military officials given demerits for the wrongful execution of Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶).

Chiang, then a 21-year-old Air Force private, was found guilty by a military court of raping and murdering a 5-year-old girl in December 1996 and executed the following August.

Chiang was exonerated in 2011, with the Control Yuan finding that the military had used torture to extract a false confession.