Ex-health ministry employee indicted in alleged espionage case

Kaohsiung, Aug. 31 (CNA) A former contract researcher at the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has been indicted on charges of accepting bribes, leaking confidential government documents and assisting money laundering in an espionage case, prosecutors in Kaohsiung said Monday.

The woman surnamed Lin (林) was charged by the Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office for violating the Anti-Corruption Act, the Money Laundering Control Act and the National Security Act, and she is in custody after a court ruling allowing her detention.

Prosecutors have recommended a 12-year prison sentence for Lin, focused mainly on her acceptance of bribes in exchange for violating her official duties.

The prosecutors office said Lin allegedly established contact online in May 2025 with a member of a "foreign hostile force" -- a term that generally refers to China -- surnamed Tseng (曾).

Lin allegedly received payments in exchange for carrying out tasks that included providing lists of Taiwanese journalists, transferring funds, and collecting information unfavorable to the government.

The woman joined the MOHW's Department of Protective Services in June 2025 as a contract associate researcher responsible for administrative work related to subsidy programs involving local governments, according to the indictment.

Investigators said Tseng had Lin funnel money from the "hostile force" through other people's bank accounts into accounts he designated for bribing military personnel surnamed Chiang (江) and Hung (洪) while disguising the source of the funds.

Prosecutors also accused Lin of photographing confidential documents issued by the Nantou County government and the MOHW on March 10 and sending them to Tseng through a messaging app in exchange for payment.

Prosecutors learned of Lin's ties to Tseng through an espionage case involving former CTi TV news anchor Lin Chen-you (林宸佑), who was indicted in May for allegedly bribing six active-duty and retired service members to leak military secrets to a "foreign hostile force."

Starting in 2023, Lin Chen-you 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.

In the case of the woman surnamed Lin, Tseng allegedly agreed to pay her NT$5,000 (US$158) per month, with some of the payments made from Lin Chen-you's account.

MOHW Department of Protective Services Director-General Kuo Tsai-jung (郭彩榕) said Monday that Lin worked at the ministry from June 2025 to May 2026 as a contract employee and that her duties did not involve classified information.

They mainly consisted of administrative work for social welfare subsidy programs, including issuing documents and reviewing reimbursement applications.

Kuo said Lin appeared to have been involved in the alleged activities before joining the ministry, based on information released by investigators, meaning the department was unaware of the conduct at the time.

Kuo added that Lin stopped regularly reporting for work in May and later resigned through her family on May 25, with the department only learning indirectly that she might have been under investigation due to confidentiality rules.