China syndromeSale of controlled technology to China brings two years
China is engaging in a broad effort to obtain Western technology, and has instructed its intellignece agencies to engage in industrial espionage in the West; a California resident is sentenced to two years in prison for selling China night-vision cameras
We have written about China’s expanding efforts to steal industrial secrets and intellectual property from Western companies. The other the head of Britain’s MI5 circulated a letter to 300 U.K. companies warning them of the systematic Chinese pilfering campaign. The Chinese effort to get their hands on Western technology comes in many shapes. Here is recent case: U.S. Attorney Scott Schools announced yesterday that Philip Cheng of Cupertino, California, was sentenced yesterday to two years in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for his role in brokering the illegal export of a night vision camera and its accompanying technology to China in violation of federal laws and regulations. The sentence is the result of a joint investigation by DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement, and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. Cheng pleaded guilty on 31 October 2006 to brokering the illegal export of Panther-series infrared camera, a device which makes use of night vision technology. Cheng failed to obtain required authorization of the U.S. Department of State prior to the export of the camera. The technology used in the device was controlled for national security reasons by the United States Department of State.
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte. Judge Whyte also sentenced Cheng to a three-year period of supervised release.
