Coast Guard Officer Sentenced to Six Years for Selling Classified Documents.

Taipei/Kaohsiung: A coast guard official was sentenced to six years and two months in prison by a Kaohsiung court on Monday for selling classified information to a Chinese national. The Ciaotou District Court found the defendant, identified by her surname Wu, guilty of committing bribery-related offenses while she was working at the Southern Branch of Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) in 2023. According to Focus Taiwan, investigators from the Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office revealed that Wu had taken photos of classified documents stored on a work computer, which included drill records and work reports. She then sent these documents to a Chinese national, identified by their surname Wang, in exchange for digital currency valued at more than NT$70,000 (US$2,155). Prosecutors further stated that Wu had agreed with Wang to gather national secrets related to critical infrastructure and defense plans for Taiwan's outlying islands in exchange for NT$500,000. Starting from December 2023, Wu attempted t o obtain this information from CGA personnel through a messaging app, but her efforts were unsuccessful, as noted by prosecutors. Court documents indicated that Wu was sentenced to six years and two months in prison and was also deprived of her civil rights for three years. The ruling is subject to appeal. The court remarked that Wu's motivation to collect and sell sensitive information stemmed from her financial debts, which resulted in harm to Taiwan's national security.