A former researcher of Osaka-based major housing chemical company Sekisui Chemical Co. is suspected of leaking classified company information to a Chinese company.

Osaka police on Tuesday sent the case to prosecutors on the 45-year-old man, who is suspected of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Law.

According to investigators, the man is accused of unlawfully obtaining plans and other data on the company’s smartphone-related technology from August 2018 to January 2019, when he was a researcher at Sekisui Chemical, and sending it to Chinese communication equipment maker Chaozhou Three-Circle Group Co.

The technology involves conductive fine particles, which are used to detect finger movement on the display of a smartphone.

Police said the man has admitted to the charges.

Sekisui Chemical discovered the alleged crime during an internal investigation, and punitively dismissed the man while filing a complaint with the police.