Oct 2, 7:34 PM EDT


Ex-engineer's wife sentenced for being China agent

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- The wife of a former defense engineer convicted of conspiracy has been sentenced in Santa Ana to three years in prison for her own role in the plot to export sensitive U.S. naval data to China.

Rebecca Laiwah Chiu of Downey was sentenced Thursday in federal court after pleading guilty last year to acting as an unregistered foreign agent.

Chiu's husband, Tai Mak, was sentenced to 24 1/2 years in prison earlier this year after a federal jury found he illegally exported U.S. defense technologies to China.

Prosecutors alleged that Mak was stealing information on submarine propulsion systems from his defense contractor employer, Anaheim-based Power Paragon, and passing it to China with the help of his extended family.

His brother, sister-in-law and nephew have also entered guilty pleas in the case.

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