TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A senior officer at Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration has been indicted for allegedly leaking maritime patrol information to smugglers in Taiwan and China in exchange for more than NT$1.88 million (US$61,752), the Coast Guard said Monday.
The suspect, surnamed Chuang (莊), previously headed the agency’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch. Between 2017 and May 2025, he allegedly accessed the Coast Guard’s intelligence system and leaked patrol schedules, deployment details, and anti-smuggling records to smugglers and cross-border fishing operators, per CNA and UDN.
Prosecutors said Chuang accepted bribes on multiple occasions. In 2018, he allegedly took NT$300,000 to protect illegal clam farming operations. Between 2023 and 2025, he reportedly received about NT$730,000 to facilitate cross-border aquaculture and seafood smuggling. He is also accused of sharing investigation details and the personal information of suspects with contacts in China.
On May 13, investigators searched Chuang’s home and office, seizing evidence before placing him in custody. The Kinmen District Court later ordered his detention and barred outside contact.
Chuang has been charged with leaking non-military state secrets, money laundering, corruption, and violating the National Security Act. Prosecutors said his actions compromised border security and undermined the Coast Guard’s ability to counter gray-zone challenges, defined as “an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state deterrence and assurance that attempts to achieve one’s security objectives without resort to direct and sizable use of force.”
Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of nine years and six months.
