Money Matters, Simplified.
Ex-Boeing engineer imprisoned for 15 years
by Ishita Sood - February 9, 2010 - comments
Chung, who worked at the Boeing’s Huntington Beach plant, lived in the U.S. since 1962.
New York, February 9 -- A Chinese-born aerospace engineer was sentenced to a 15-year term in prison for acquiring secret space shuttle data for China. The engineer Dongfan Greg Chung had access to sensitive material.
U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney sentenced Chung to 15 years prison time and said that Chung could not put a “price tag” on national security. He also added that U.S. must send a signal to China to “stop sending your spies here.”
Chung, who worked at the Boeing’s Huntington Beach plant, lived in U.S. since 1962. Chung denied all charges of being a spy on Monday and said that he was gathering documents for a book, not for espionage.
Chung professes love for U.S.
Chung, during the trial, made his devotion for U.S. evident.
He said, “Your honor, I'm not a spy, I'm an ordinary man. I was planning to write a book. Those documents were going to be used for my references.
I love this country, my children and grandchildren live here. I beg your pardon, I want to live with my family peacefully,” he added.
The case against Chung resulted from an investigation into Chi Mak, an engineer who worked in U.S. and obtained sensitive military information for China. Carney Mak was sentenced to a 24 year imprisonment in 2008.
Chung called a “pack rat”
However, defense lawyers said Chung was “pack rat” who had hoarded documents at his Orange County home, Calif.
“Mr. Chung betrayed his adopted country and endangered our national security,” said acting U.S. Attorney George Cardona in a written statement.
The officers also discovered letters and journals of Chung through which he had communicated with officials in China.
“This case demonstrates our resolve to protect the secrets that help protect the United States as well as the important technological advancements developed by scientists working for companies that provide crucial support to our national security programs,” added Cardona.
Chung’s previous cases
This is not the first time that Chung has been caught by the U.S. police. Between 1985 and 2003, Chung made multiple trips to China to deliver lectures on technology. He even met Chinese government officials, including military agents, said U.S. authorities.
Chung was arrested in 2006 when federal agents found 300,000 pages of sensitive documents relating to space shuttle Delta IV rocket.
In 2009, Chung was convicted on charges of economic espionage while being employed by the Rockwell International and Boeing Co.