TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two officers surnamed Su (蘇) have been convicted of fabricating information on fictitious Chinese intelligence personnel to fraudulently claim nearly NT$11 million (US$335,000) in rewards.
From April 2018 to June 2023, a male lieutenant colonel collected Chinese national identification cards online and provided them to a female colleague, a colonel, per CNA.
He pretended to introduce her to Chinese personnel and supplied fabricated or internet-sourced intelligence. This included information on Chinese naval ports, warships, and vessel movements, which the female officer then reported to the Military Intelligence Bureau.
The woman obtained approval from the MIB to register the alleged Chinese agents as informants. The male officer then used communication software accounts to impersonate multiple individuals, fabricating false conversations with the Chinese personnel.
He also contrived intelligence reports, which the female officer submitted to the MIB. Through this scheme, they fraudulently claimed NT$6,543,793 and US$144,800 in rewards.
The female officer received NT$850,945 and the rest went to the male officer, who transferred the funds to third-party accounts to hide the origin. The Shilin District Prosecutors Office indicted both individuals under the Anti-Corruption Act for embezzling public funds through their positions.
In the first trial, Shilin District Court sentenced the woman to seven years in prison, revoked her civil rights for six years, and confiscated NT$850,000. The court sentenced the man to six years in prison, a five-year revocation of civil rights, and the forfeiture of over NT$10.14 million.
At the second trial, Taiwan High Court ruled their crimes should be treated as a continuous offense. Considering the female officer's efforts to provide information on her co-conspirators, the court showed leniency.
She was sentenced to three years and two months in prison, had her civil rights revoked for three years, and was ordered to forfeit NT$850,000. The man was sentenced to five years in prison, had his civil rights revoked for five years, and was ordered to hand over NT$10.14 million.
After they filed an appeal, the Supreme Court rejected the case, making the verdict final.
