TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan High Court in Taichung overturned an acquittal and sentenced an officer to two years in prison for passing sensitive military pictures to a contact overseas, reports said Thursday.
Appeals were still possible against the latest verdict, per CNA. The conscript, surnamed Lin (林), sold the pictures because he was in debt, according to prosecutors.
The allegations dated back to 2021, when Lin served as a driver at an Air Force air defense and missile command unit. Via a messaging app, he made the acquaintance of a person of unspecified age and nationality who called himself “Manager An Hsin-ho” (安信何), prosecutors said.
Lin hoped An could help him resolve debts totaling NT$140,000 (US$4,400). The contact asked him to send technical manuals and maps showing the location of Patriot missiles. Lin also photographed other documents, including an analysis of Chinese military positions and the contents of and list of participants in a seminar on air defense and missiles. In return, An sent NT$4,000 to his post office account.
The case was discovered by law enforcement because An lost his phone. A member of the public who found it handed it over to police in Miaoli City. While looking through the smartphone to find its owner, officers discovered sensitive military pictures, leading them to alert military police, CNA reported.
The Taiwan High Court in Taichung acquitted Lin in December 2023 because the military declared the information on Lin’s phone was not classified. However, the Supreme Court ruled the investigation had been incomplete, sending the case back to the High Court, which decided Thursday that Lin should serve two years in prison for the attempted crime of leaking military secrets.
