A man suspected of trespassing on Kaohsiung's Tsoying Naval Base using forged documents was arrested Tuesday, after fleeing while his ID was being checked by base security Friday.
The suspect, a former Marine Corps major surnamed Chen (?), was arrested by Kaohsiung police and Military Police at his rented apartment in the city's Sanmin District, the police said Wednesday.
Chen, 34, who reportedly used to serve at Tsoying, is currently being questioned by police on suspicion of illegally entering the military base and holding forged documents.
The arrest was made after the police from the city's Tsoying Precinct received a report Saturday from the naval base saying that Chen had fled after he was found to have entered the military installation using a forged identification document.
According to a press release issued by the Navy, Chen successfully entered the base compound at 11:27 p.m. Friday, and, as he was leaving just under an hour later at 12:24 a.m., he was asked by security guards at the base's exit for his ID.
Chen then fled from the base while one of the guards double-checked the authenticity of his ID, with guards eventually determining it to be a fake.
The naval base had collected all evidence pertaining to the case, including CCTV footage, and handed it to the police to help find Chen, the Navy said, adding that nothing had been stolen by Chen while he was in the military compound, as the base's offices were locked.
Local media reports said Chen had filed for an early discharge, which took effect in November, after being accused of receiving an inappropriate loan.
A task force now suspects that Chen might have been forced to serve as a Chinese spy and break into the base in order to pay back the money he owed, reports said.
Meanwhile, Vice Defense Minister Wang Hsin-Lung (???) told lawmakers at a legislative hearing on Wednesday that the incident "should have never happened," blaming the suspected breach on major negligence by the guards who let Chen enter the base in the first place.
The Navy has strengthened security checks for all those who enter the base to make sure a similar incident will not happen again, Wang said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel