Ex-soldier, Army officer indicted for alleged military leak to China

Taipei, May 12 (CNA) A former soldier and an active-duty Army officer were indicted Tuesday for allegedly leaking classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative in exchange for monetary benefits.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for violating the National Security Act and the Anti-Corruption Act by leaking classified information.

According to the indictment, Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, who is now an Army lieutenant, at the Army Sixth Corps' 21st Artillery Command from 2011 to 2013.

Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as "Wang" through a friend in November 2023, when Chen was having financial difficulties, and was allegedly promised financial compensation in exchange for sensitive military information.

Meanwhile, Lee began receiving training to become an officer on Jan. 4, 2024, during which he had possession of classified course materials not publicly released by the military, the indictment said.

After learning that Lee was still serving in the military, Chen met his old friend on March 16, 2024, the indictment said.

Chen told Lee that he was in contact with a Chinese operative and could earn money by photographing military materials. He then introduced Lee to Wang via the messaging app WeChat.

During their online interaction, Wang allegedly offered to pay Lee twice his monthly salary, plus additional bonuses for copying and handing over sensitive military information, but Lee declined the offer.

Later, knowing that Lee was still in training, Chen again approached him for help and said he needed the course materials for payment from Wang, as he had debts to settle. The two then agreed to meet again on April 7, the indictment said.

At around 8 p.m. that night, Chen and Lee met at a parking lot in Taipei's Beitou District, where Chen used his mobile phone to photograph and collect the classified documents before sending the images to Wang.

On April 13, Chen received 2,500 USDT (cryptocurrency) from Wang, where he then later converted it into cash that amounted to NT$79,440 (US$2,527), according to the indictment.