Internet becomes conduit in military espionage cases

This screen shot shows Wu, convicted of military espionage, talking to Jiangsu TV after being sentenced to 10 years in prison. [Photo/Agencies]

Two men have been sentenced while another has been arrested for sharing classified information in East China's Jiangsu province.

The three became targets of overseas spying agencies while using the Internet for everyday things, according to a statement released by national security authorities in Jiangsu province on Thursday.

A man surnamed Wu was sentenced to 10 years in prison in last June for collecting and leaking more than 120 files, including 11 classified ones, related to locations of military airports, stationed forces and training grounds.

The Suzhou Intermediate Court also ruled to deprive Wu of political rights for three years.

The remorseful 30-year-old told Jiangsu TV that he had always been a good citizen before the conviction, adding that it's too cruel for him to face 10 years behind bars in exchange of petty gain of 3,800 yuan ($613).

Another man, surnamed Zhao, took advantage of his connections as a civil servant to obtain closed-door government documents. Zhao also approached military schools to collect their study reports and newspapers.

In return for an illegal payment of 74,500 yuan ($12,024) Zhao got for 11 classified files, he was jailed for 10 years with political rights deprived for three years in January.

TV footage showed that the 53-year-old confessed that he deeply regretted "taking a short cut" in trial at the Lianyungang Intermediate Court.

Sitting behind bars, the youngest of the three, Gu, expressed similar regret in the TV program, saying he may face 10 years in prison as consequence of illegal gain of 34,460 yuan ($5,562).

The 24-year-old's surveillance package contained 93 photos about stationed forces' activities, 33 maps, 25 satellite graphics and 29 reports, among which four were classified files, in a spying career dating back to October, 2013.

Gu was arrested in Suzhou city in February.