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Taiwan Sentences Ex-TE Engineer 10 Years for TSMC Theft

4/27/2026

Summary

Story summary

A Taiwan court sentenced former Tokyo Electron employee Chen Li-ming to 10 years in prison for stealing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) chip technology.
The court fined Tokyo Electron’s Taiwan unit $5 million, gave three co-defendants two- to six-year terms and suspended a fourth’s 10-month sentence for three years.
Prosecutors indicted the group in August 2025 under the National Security Act and neither Tokyo Electron nor TSMC commented on the rulings.

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Story summary

A Taiwan court sentenced former Tokyo Electron employee Chen Li-ming to 10 years in prison for stealing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) chip technology.
The court fined Tokyo Electron’s Taiwan unit $5 million, gave three co-defendants two- to six-year terms and suspended a fourth’s 10-month sentence for three years.
Prosecutors indicted the group in August 2025 under the National Security Act and neither Tokyo Electron nor TSMC commented on the rulings.