CTi reporter indicted for allegedly bribing soldiers to leak military secrets

Kaohsiung, May 6 (CNA) Prosecutors on Wednesday indicted a CTi TV reporter for allegedly bribing six active-duty and retired service members to leak military secrets to a "foreign hostile force" and producing programs under its instructions, and said they were seeking a prison sentence of up to 12 years.

The six active-duty and retired military personnel involved in the case were also indicted, prosecutors said at a press conference at the Taiwan Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office Wednesday upon concluding their investigation.

Lin Chen-you (林宸佑), 28, covered political beats -- mainly the Legislature -- for CTi News and hosted a political program on the outlet's YouTube channel before being questioned by Ciaotou prosecutors on Jan. 17 and subsequently detained without visitation rights.

According to prosecutors, Lin collaborated with a Chinese national named Huang (黃), an operative for a "foreign hostile force," in a plot to compromise national security.

Since 2023, Lin used five bank accounts to transfer money to six active-duty and retired Army and Navy personnel surnamed Hung (洪), Chung (鍾), Chen (陳), Yang (楊), Lai (賴) and Ko (柯) in exchange for classified military information, prosecutors said.

The six recipients of the bribes used their phones to photograph "military secrets," including internal classified documents and electronic records, and sent them via messaging apps to the "foreign hostile force," prosecutors added.

According to prosecutors, Lin then received overseas payments -- estimated at NT$169,493 (US$5,390) -- through cryptocurrency exchange accounts on Binance and OKX to "conceal the source of illicit proceeds."

Meanwhile, prosecutors said Lin produced videos on CTi, YouTube and social media opposing the recall bids against Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers -- a campaign backed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, aiming to eliminate the opposition majority in the Legislature -- from June to August last year at the instruction of the "foreign hostile force."

The "foreign hostile force" also provided story ideas, pre-approved the scripts, and later sent Lin 4,325 Tether (USDT), worth about NT$130,000, as rewards after Lin sent screenshots of the videos' viewership, prosecutors said.

According to the prosecutors' statement, Lin was indicted for violations of the Anti-Infiltration Act, the Money Laundering Control Act, and the Anti-Corruption Act on charges including jointly accepting bribes, for which prosecutors sought prison sentences of five, five, and seven years, respectively.

Lin could face a combined sentence of up to 12 years, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors also asked the Ciaotou District Court to impose heavy sentences on the six military personnel indicted for bribery in breach of duty under the Anti-Corruption Act, transferring classified electronic records to China in violation of the National Security Act, and disclosure of secrets under the Criminal Code.

Prosecutors said the case was filed under the Citizen Judges Act but will be transferred out of that system due to national security concerns, adding that Lin is expected to be sent to the Ciaotou District Court on Thursday for a detention hearing.