Former CIA officer jailed 19 years for spying for China

(PTI) Washington, Ta. November 23, 2019, Saturday

A US court has sentenced a former CIA official to 19 years for spying for China. 55-year-old Jerry Chun Shing Lee has been sentenced for giving information linked to national security to China.

According to court documents, Lee resigned from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2007 and began living in Hong Kong.

Lee is a former CIA official accused of spying for China, who has been sentenced. "We have convicted three Americans who spied for the Chinese government in the past one year, and all three have been sentenced to at least ten years," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said. Sadly, all three are former members of the US Intelligence Community.

He further said that the sentenced sent a message to current and former officials of the CIA that those who betrayed the country would be severely punished. He further said that there is a need to beware of the Chinese government.

In April 2010, two Chinese intelligence officials contacted Lee and offered to pay him money for providing US defense information. He offered to give Lee a million dollars in cash.

Chinese officials also assured Lee's lifelong care. On May 14, 2010, Lee deposited $ 17,468 in his personal account in Hong Kong. The FBI began tracking Lee in 2012.

John Brown, the FBI's Assistant Director of Counter Intelligence, has stated that Lee was a CIA officer and had extremely sensitive information about the United States Department of Defense and that he had betrayed the CIA.