Former CIA Officer Alexander Yuk Ching Ma Sentenced for Spying for China
Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, a 71-year-old former CIA officer from Honolulu, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling US secrets to the Chinese government. Ma was arrested in August 2020 after admitting to an undercover FBI agent that he had provided classified information to China’s Shanghai State Security Bureau (SSSB). The US Department of Justice announced the sentence on Wednesday.
Ma worked for the CIA from 1982 until 1989 and held top secret security clearances. He admitted that in March 2001, over a decade after leaving the CIA, he was contacted by SSSB intelligence officers. They asked him to arrange a meeting between his relative, also a former CIA officer, and the SSSB. During a three-day meeting in a Hong Kong hotel, Ma’s relative provided a large volume of classified US information in exchange for USD 50,000 in cash.
In March, while living in Hawaii, Ma took a job as a contract linguist in the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office. The FBI, aware of Ma’s ties to Chinese intelligence, hired him as part of a ruse to monitor his activities. Ma worked part-time for the FBI from August 2004 until October 2012.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ma must cooperate with US authorities for the rest of his life, including submitting to debriefings by US government agencies.
Doubts Revealed
CIA -: The CIA, or Central Intelligence Agency, is a part of the US government that collects and analyzes information about other countries to keep America safe.
Alexander Yuk Ching Ma -: Alexander Yuk Ching Ma is a person who used to work for the CIA and was caught giving secret information to China.
Spying -: Spying means secretly collecting information about a country or organization, usually to help another country.
China -: China is a large country in Asia, and in this context, it refers to the government that received secret information from Ma.
Classified information -: Classified information is secret data that only certain people are allowed to know because it is very important for a country’s safety.
Shanghai State Security Bureau -: The Shanghai State Security Bureau is a part of China’s government that deals with intelligence and security matters.
Supervised release -: Supervised release means that after Ma gets out of prison, he will still be watched by authorities to make sure he follows the rules.
Intelligence officers -: Intelligence officers are people who work for a government to collect and analyze secret information.