Ex-Ford man 'stole trade secrets'

A former Ford engineer has been charged with stealing trade secrets from the company.

Xiang Dong Yu, 47, was arrested at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago after traveling to the United States from China.

Yu, a Chinese national living in Beijing, has been charged with theft of trade secrets, attempted theft of trade secrets and unauthorised access to a protected computer.

Yu was a Ford product engineer from 1997 to 2007. In December 2006, he accepted a job at the China branch of a US company.

The FBI alleges that Yu copied 4000 Ford documents, including sensitive design documents, onto an external hard drive after accepting his new job but before notifying Ford of his departure.

According to the Justice Department in the US, the documents included design specifications for engine and transmission mounting sub-systems, electrical distribution systems and electrical sub-systems. The indictment alleges that Yu also tried to use Ford documents to get a job with a Chinese auto company in 2005 and again in 2008.

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