欲将上千份文件带回中国 华裔被控窃商业机密

倍可亲(backchina.com)周三，一位联邦法官说，一名前软件工程师被控从一家位于芝加哥的电信公司窃取商业秘密并试图将有关文件带往中国。

　　据法新社报道，这名软件工程师叫Hanjuan Jin。她是一名出生在中国的美国公民。她在2007年2月在芝加哥国际机场被有关人员拦截下来。当时她正试图登上一架前往中国的飞机。据说她携带有1000多份文件，其中许多是机密文件。

　　海关当局没收了这些文件，它们有的是电子版本的文件或是印刷在纸上的文件。而芝加哥的那家公司说，这些文件中含有代表了投资上亿美元的研发资料。

　　3月7日，Jin以刑事罪被捕。

　　根据国务院的一份声明。她现在被控3项窃取商业机密罪，这每一项罪都会判高达10年的坐牢及25万美元的罚款。

　　根据起诉书，Jin从1998年开始就一直为那家电信公司工作。她在2006年2月请病假，但在此时她却在和中国的一家软件公司商谈一份新的工作。

　　她在2007年2月26日回到芝加哥的那家公司工作。据称她从公司的电脑系统下载了商业秘密并取走了其他的文件。 Jin在第2天2月28日试图登上一架前往中国的飞机，而且买的是单程机票。

AFP: IT worker stole trade secrets to take to China: US justice

A former software engineer has been charged for allegedly stealing trade secrets from a telecoms firm in Chicago and trying to take the documents to China, federal justice officials said Wednesday.

Hanjuan Jin, a China-born US citizen, was stopped at Chicago international airport in February 2007 as she tried to board a flight to China, allegedly carrying more than 1,000 documents, many of them confidential, they said.

Customs officials seized the documents, which were in both electronic and paper format and which the Chicago firm said contained information representing hundreds of millions dollars of research of development.

Following a criminal complaint, Jin was arrested on March 7.

She has now been charged with three counts of theft of trade secrets, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a 250,000-dollar fine, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

"We have to be vigilant in preserving the integrity of trade secrets to provide an honest playing field among business competitors, whether foreign or domestic," said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, US attorney for the northern district of Illinois.

"Trade secrets often are a business's most valuable assets, and protecting them from theft and betrayal is a high priority for law enforcement."

According to the indictment, Jin had worked for the unnamed telecoms company since 1998. She took a medical leave of absence in February 2006 during which she negotiated a new job with a software firm in China.

She returned to work in Chicago on February 26, 2007, where she allegedly downloaded trade secrets from the computer system and took other documents.

Jin handed in her notice the following day and on February 28, tried to board a flight to China using a one-way ticket, when she was stopped, the Department of Justice said.