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18 March 2015

Retired Taiwan Admiral Gets 14 Month Prison Sentence for Spying for China

March 16. 2015

Retired navy brass to serve 14 months in jail for espionage

Taipei, March 16 (CNA) Retired Navy Vice Admiral Ko Cheng-sheng (柯政盛) is to serve a 14-month jail term for spying for China after the Supreme Court overturned his appeal and upheld a ruling and sentence imposed by a lower court.

The Supreme Court retained the verdict of the High Court Monday that found Ko guilty in late September last year of espionage.

As a high-ranking naval officer, Ko “disregarded national security, introducing other high-ranking military officers of the country to China, offering them an opportunity of which they could take advantage,” the Supreme Court said in its ruling.

"Ko has violated the highest belief that soldiers should be loyal to their country," the court said.

It also upheld a ruling on Ko’s friend, Shen Ping-kang (沈秉康), a businessman, who was found guilty of enticing Ko into spying for China. He received a sentence of 12 months in jail.

Shen invited Ko and his family to tour Australia and visit Beijing many times during the period between 1998 and 2007, during which time he introduced Ko to Chinese intelligence officials, the ruling said.

After his retirement, Ko arranged meetings between two senior Taiwanese naval officers and Chinese officials in a failed attempt to recruit them into spying for China.

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