Engineer’s Family To Plead Guilty In Spy Case
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Three family members of a Chinese-American engineer convicted last month of spying for China have agreed to plead guilty to charges stemming from an investigation into the transfer of submarine technology.
A jury found Chi Mak guilty of conspiring to violate export laws, operating as a Chinese agent in America, and lying to the FBI. Mak’s brother and sister in law, Tai Wang Mak and Fuk Li, and their son, Billy Mak, were set to go on trial today in Santa Ana, Calif.
Under deals reached with prosecutors, Ms. Li and Billy Mak, will each plead guilty to a single charge of aiding and abetting an export violation. Assuming a judge agrees, Ms. Li would be put on probation, marriage fraud charges against her would be dropped, and Billy Mak would be sentenced to time served.
Tai Mak, who worked in California as a technician for a Hong Kong-based television channel, will plead guilty to a more serious charge of conspiracy to violate defense-related export controls. That is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. No sentence was agreed to by Tai Mak’s lawyers and the government.
