Silicon Valley businessman gets two years for selling night vision equipment to the Chinese

A Silicon Valley businessman was sentenced Monday to two years in prison for helping broker the sale of a night vision camera to a research institute linked to the Chinese military, according to an AP report. Philip Cheng, 60, pleaded guilty in October of last year to violating a U.S. law forbidding the export of military-related items to China. Cheng was originally charged in 2004 with six felonies, including conspiracy, money laundering and brokering the illegal export of defense-related equipment. A 2006 trial ended in a mistrial when the jury couldn’t reach a verdict, and he later agreed to plead guilty to one count. The indictment alleges Cheng and a business partner didn’t get the required State Department approval before selling a military-grade “Panther I” infrared camera to the North China Research Institute for Electro-Optics for $65,000. They also were accused of entering a contract with the Chinese military to mass-produce night vision equipment in China. Cheng is scheduled to begin serving the prison sentence on Feb. 12, and he has also been ordered to pay a $50,000 fine.