Three Chinese nationals were sentenced to prison last week for illegally entering Naval Air Station Key West, Florida, in December and January and taking photos on the base, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
Lyuyou Liao, 27, was sentenced to 12 months in prison and a year of supervised release Friday after he pleaded guilty to entering the base on Dec. 26 and taking photos and videos of property in the Truman Annex portion of the base, imagery that included “vital military equipment,” according to a Justice statement.
The attorney listed for Lyuyou did not respond to a request seeking comment.
According to court records, Lyuyou was seen walking along the base’s fence line at about 6:50 a.m. and then entering the base via rocks along the water line.
After witnesses warned him he could not be there, they reported Lyuyou entered anyway and began taking photos of the annex and other government buildings “within the vicinity of sensitive military facilities,” court records state.
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Lyuyou told military police in broken English that he was trying to take photographs of the sunrise, according to court records.
Also Friday, Jielun Zhang, 25, and Yuhao Wang, 24, were sentenced to 12 months and nine months in prison, respectively, followed by a year of probation, after pleading guilty to entering NAS Key West on January 4, according to Justice.
Jielun and Yuhao took photos of military infrastructure in the Sigsbee Park and Trumbo Point sections of the base, according to the Justice Department.
Attorneys for the two did not respond to requests for comment.
The two drove up to the Sigsbee Annex at about 8:30 a.m. that morning, according to court records.
When they had no military identification, the gate guard told them to make a U-turn and leave, according to records.
Yuhao proceeded to drive forward and onto the base, court records show.
The guard radioed to other security forces, who found the two about 30 minutes later on restricted property.
Both of the accused cooperated with police and showed them photos they had taken of the annex, according to records.
The recent incidents come after another Chinese national, 20-year-old Zhao Qianli, was caught taking photos on the base in September 2018.
He told federal authorities that he was a music student and that he lost his way on the tourist trail, but investigators found photos on Zhao’s cellphone and digital camera of government buildings and a Defense Department antenna, the Associated Press reported.
Zhao was sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty in February 2019 to one count of photographing defense installations, according to the AP.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
