A former agent of the CIA, the main US spy agency, was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years in prison for spying for China, the US Department of Justice announced.

Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, pleaded guilty in May to a charge of participating in a “conspiracy to collect and deliver information related to (US) national defense” to China.

He was arrested in August 2020 after admitting to an undercover FBI agent that he facilitated the delivery of classified information to Chinese spy agencies, the Justice Department said.

How the FBI “wracked” him

Ma worked for the CIA from 1982 to 1989, as did a member of his family from 1967 to 1983.

According to filings, he was approached in 2001 by Chinese spy agencies, who asked to meet with his relative — the latter has since passed away.

During a meeting at a hotel in Hong Kong, the two gave classified information in exchange for $50,000 in cash.

In 2003, Ma applied for a translator position at the FBI office in Hawaii, where he was then residing.

The FBI, “aware of Mr. Ma’s ties to Chinese espionage,” hired him to be able to monitor his activities; he was employed in a part-time position from August 2004 to October 2012, according to the Ministry of Justice.