Sentencing set for Motorla espionage suspect

Software developer Hanjuan Jin will to appear before a federal judge to be sentenced for stealing trade secrets from Motorola Inc.

U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo in February found Jin guilty of taking more than 1,000 confidential documents from the Motorola office where she worked before attempting to board a flight to China. She was stopped during a random security search at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Feb. 28, 2007.

Prosecutors alleged that among the secrets she carried were descriptions of a walkie-talkie type feature on Motorola cellphones that prosecutors argued would benefit the Chinese military.

The trial highlighted persistent fears about China pilfering vital information from U.S. companies.

Jin’s lawyers say she merely grabbed the files to refresh her technical knowledge after her long absence from work.