NewTaiwanese spy jailed 18 years for selling secrets to Beijing
Military colonel convicted for being a double agent and pocketing US$250,000 for information
A Taiwanese court on Wednesday sentenced a former intelligence officer to 18 years in prison for spying for Beijing, the latest in a series of espionage scandals in recent years.
Lo Chi-cheng, formally a colonel in the military intelligence bureau, was convicted of selling classified information to the mainland multiple times between 2007 and 2010 in return for about US$250,000, the high court said.
A military tribunal in 2011 had sentenced Lo to life in prison, which he appealed. The high court reduced his sentence on the grounds that he had confessed and shown remorse, a court official said.
He can also appeal Wednesday’s ruling. Defence authorities have said “damage control” measures began after Lo was arrested in late 2010 but have not elaborated.
Media reports say Lo sold lists of spies stationed on the mainland and other secret information to the mainland, which compromised crucial Taiwanese intelligence networks and endangered the lives of agents.
Lo was recruited by a Taiwanese businessman, who was sentenced to three years and six months in jail for his role in the case in a separate ruling.