China’s State Security Ministry announced that an engineer who was found to have sold state secret information to foreign intelligence services has been sentenced to death. It was reported that the engineer illegally copied numerous pieces of classified information before resigning from his job.

A post on the State Security Ministry’s WeChat account in China detailed the espionage case against an assistant engineer working at a public research institute with the surname “Liu.”

STOLE STATE SECRETS BEFORE RESIGNING The statement mentioned that Liu was unhappy with the conditions at the institute where he worked, felt disregarded during promotions, and decided to resign. It was also mentioned that before leaving, he illegally copied many pieces of classified information.

SOLD STATE SECRETS After resigning, the former engineer started working at a securities investment company and incurred debts due to failed risky investments. It was reported that Liu, in financial distress, contacted a foreign intelligence agency to sell the information he possessed for money, and later shared the “state secret” information with intelligence agencies of several other countries.

TRIED FOR ESPIONAGE AND SENTENCED TO DEATH The statement revealed that Liu was later apprehended, tried for espionage, and sentenced to death, with no further information provided about the date of the sentence or its execution.