WASHINGTON, Sept 11 (Askume) – A former CIA officer was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to spying for China, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors in May this year on the condition that he would plead guilty to conspiring to collect and provide defence information to China, the US Justice Department said in a statement.
The Justice Department said Ma, who worked for the CIA from 1982 to 1989, conspired with his now-deceased relative, who also worked at the CIA. He was approached by Chinese intelligence officers in March 2001 and handed over “large amounts” of classified defense information in exchange for $50,000, the department said.