Court upholds 4-year term for security bureau officer who leaked intel

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) The Taiwan High Court on Wednesday upheld a four-year prison sentence for a former National Security Bureau (NSB) officer who leaked classified information while seeking a teaching job in China.

Peng Shun-fu (彭順富), who served as intelligence officer in the Taiwanese intelligence agency from 1995 until the end of his active service in 2006, posted his background and research information from his time in the bureau to an academic recruitment website supervised by China's Ministry of Education in May 2018, the court said.

According to the Taiwan High Court, the posting disclosed details involving "intelligence sources, channels or organizations, and identity information of intelligence personnel."

The court said Peng's responsibilities at the NSB included decrypting electronic cipher machines and that his duties had been designated as classified by the NSB's director-general.

Because of the nature of his work, Peng was subject to permanent confidentiality obligations under the Classified National Security Information Protection Act, it said.

The Taoyuan District Court had previously convicted Peng of violating Article 30, Paragraph 1 of the pre-amended National Intelligence Services Act and sentenced him to four years in prison.

The Taiwan High Court rejected Peng's appeal and confirmed the original sentence. The ruling can be appealed.

In its ruling, the court said that Peng's background meant he "should have been more aware than the average person of the importance of intelligence work to the nation."

It added that his military career had "repeatedly instilled in him the values of loyalty, responsibility and honor."

The court noted that Peng acted in full awareness of the situation between Taiwan and China, yet still sought employment in China and posted information from his time in the NSB that resulted in the leak of classified intelligence.

It said Peng showed "no remorse" and denied the offense after the fact.