April 24, 2008

Federal judge sentences China television exec to 10 years in espionage case

US District Judge Cormac J. Carney of the Central District of California on Monday sentenced former Chinese television executive Tai Wang Mak to 10 years in prison for conspiring with his brother, Chi Mak, to smuggle sensitive naval intelligence data to China. The US government indicted Tai Mak, along with his brother and brother's wife, in November 2005 for both acting as, and failing to register as, an agent of a foreign government in violation of 18 USC 951. Chi Mak and his wife allegedly stole computer disks from his employer, defense contractor Power Paragon and copied sensitive information that Tai Mak and his wife were then to deliver to a contact in China. All four suspects were arrested on October 28, 2005, Tai Mak and his wife at Los Angeles International Airport and Chi Mak and his wife at their home in California.

Chi Mak was sentenced last month to more than 24 years in prison [press release]. Tai Mak, his wife Fuk Li, and their son Billy Mak all pleaded guilty to charges as part of a plea agreement in June 2007. Billy Mak and Fuk Li were sentenced to time served and face deportation back to China. Chi Mak's wife, Rebecca Laiwah Chiu, is scheduled to be sentenced in May.