REUTERS, AUGUST 23, 2006
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A former employee of Dow Chemical Co. (DOW.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has been arrested and charged with conspiring to steal company trade secrets and sell them in China, U.S. authorities said on Wednesday.
Former Dow researcher Wen Shyu Liu was arrested in Seattle, Washington on Tuesday on an inbound flight from Taipei, Taiwan on charges of conspiracy, receipt and possession of stolen trade secrets, wire fraud, illegal monetary transactions, perjury, and asset forfeiture, according to a press statement from U.S. Attorney David Dugas.
Liu, who worked for the leading U.S. chemical maker between 1965 and 1992, was indicted by a grand jury on March 24, 2005, Dugas said. He is also known as David Liou.
The indictment charges that Liu conspired to steal, copy and convey trade secrets related to a chemical developed by Dow called Tyrin CPE, Dugas said.
Tyrin is a polyethylene polymer used in a range of applications such as automotive and industrial hoses, electrical
cable jackets, vinyl siding and window framing.
Dow spokesman Scott Wheeler declined comment.
The indictment claims that Liu hired employees and former employees who had worked for Dow on Tyrin to prepare a “detailed engineering package to sell to prospective Chinese companies.”
Liu, 69, was scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge in Seattle on Wednesday, Dugas said. If convicted on all counts, Liu could face up to 300 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines, Dugas said.
[Bhopal.net comment: Dow executives, whose chemicals have killed and maimed millions of people, do not face prison sentences, nor have they paid a penny in fines.]

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