Former Taiwanese Military Engineer Sentenced to 15 Years for Fraudulently Leasing Military Housing Land

A former engineering officer of the Taiwanese Army's "Sixth Army Command" military dependents' service unit, Captain Li Zhenyu, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraudulently leasing military housing land. Li exploited his position managing military dependents' village land, forging military seals and contracts to privately lease the land, thereby illicitly collecting rent and project payments totaling over 10 million New Taiwan dollars (approximately 2.2 million RMB). Both the first and second trials resulted in a 15-year sentence. A further appeal to the third trial was rejected by Taiwan's "Supreme Court" on May 18.

The case came to light in 2020 during an audit of all military dependents' village land under the "Sixth Army Command," which revealed 14 plots occupied by private companies. During the investigation, the companies presented lease contracts purportedly issued by the military but lacked official approval documents. Suspecting irregularities, the military reported the case to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for further investigation.

Investigators found that Li Zhenyu, without superior approval, privately forged land lease contracts and payment proofs, then mixed them with a large volume of official documents submitted to the "Sixth Army Command" archives office. Archive staff, without verification, stamped the forged contracts. Li then provided these contracts to the companies, which subsequently paid rent as stipulated.

Furthermore, the investigation uncovered that Li used similar tactics to fabricate minor construction projects related to the military housing land, deceiving companies into paying project security deposits, which he embezzled. From October 2017 to February 2020, when the case was exposed, Li fraudulently leased 14 plots of military housing land and fabricated 16 minor construction projects, defrauding a total of over 10.03 million New Taiwan dollars. Prosecutors subsequently indicted him.

Following the exposure of the case, Li fled to the Philippines. Taiwanese prosecutors issued a warrant for his arrest in November 2020. He was apprehended in the Philippines at the end of 2024 and returned to Taiwan for trial in March 2025.