AKIPRESS.COM - After a lengthy investigation, a U.S. Navy officer assigned to an intelligence gathering unit has been charged with multiple counts of espionage and providing secret information to China and Taiwan, LATimes reports citing U.S. officials and charging documents.

Lt. Cmdr. Edward C. Lin, a flight officer who spent much of his Navy career in reconnaissance and patrol squadrons, is being investigated by the FBI and the Navy Criminal Investigative Service on suspicion of failing to disclose foreign travel, passing classified information and patronizing prostitutes.

Lin was born in Taiwan and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He has been in custody for eight months at a Navy brig in Chesapeake, Va., officials said.

The case became public when Lin faced a preliminary hearing, known as an Article 32 hearing, on Friday. The hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to refer the case to a general court-martial.

A heavily redacted charge sheet released by the Navy does not name Lin or any foreign government. The three-page charge sheet says the suspect was assigned to the headquarters of the Navy's Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, which oversees intelligence-collection activities.