Shane Todd was found dead June 24 after expressing concern that his employer was working with China.
WASHINGTON — Officials in Washington promised to give priority to the investigation of an American engineer who died under suspicious circumstances in Singapore, his parents said Saturday morning after a whirlwind of meetings Friday.
“I think we’re finally breaking through,” said Rick Todd, whose son Shane was found hanging from his bathroom door June 24.
Before his death, Shane Todd expressed concern his Singaporean employer was illegally helping China obtain technology that could harm U.S. national security, his parents say.
Shane Todd’s parents, Rick and Mary Todd, traveled from their home in Marion, Mont., to Washington for a day of meetings Friday about the ongoing investigation and to push for the FBI to get involved.
The Singapore police initially ruled the death a suicide, but the Todds believe their son was murdered to prevent him from exposing the plot he had uncovered. The Todds met with Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., as well as officials from the State Department and other government agencies, Rick Todd said.
STORY: Intrigue surrounds American’s death in Singapore
Baucus told them he would discuss the case this week with White House officials, Secretary of State John Kerry and Singapore’s ambassador to Washington, Rick Todd said. People in Singapore familiar with Shane Todd’s case have begun to come forward with information about the kind of work his employer has been involved in, which could be relevant to the case, Rick Todd added.
“It is our hope and prayer that more people will come forward that will expose the truth,” Rick Todd said.
Shane Todd traveled to Singapore in 2010 to work for the Institute of Microelectronics, a government research institution. Todd managed a small team focused on producing cutting-edge devices using gallium nitride, a powerful new semiconductor. The “dual use” technology could greatly boost commercial cellphone towers or military radars and jamming devices.
When Shane Todd’s body was found, the Singaporean police collected his computers and cellphone as part of their investigation, but left behind a computer hard drive that his parents later found in his apartment. The hard drive contained documents that showed some of what Todd was working on, including a draft agreement for IME to share his gallium nitride work with Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei.
Huawei’s ties to China’s military and intelligence services make it “a serious threat” to U.S. national security, Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told CBS’ 60 Minutes in October.
Both IME and Huawei have denied collaborating on gallium nitride. A coroner’s inquest in Singapore scheduled for early this month has been postponed because the investigation is ongoing, Rick Todd said.
The case has exposed corruption and a threat to U.S. security that cost his son’s life because he wanted to expose it, and affects anyone who works or has children working overseas, Rick Todd said.
“This is a fight for freedom to live a life where you don’t have to fear what you say,” he said.
Parents: US looking into son"s Singapore death
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