He might not have realized what he did was illegal.
He might have thought that lying (or evading) the FBI is worse than the risk of being convicted for stealing secrets. (It usually is.)
He might have thought that lying (or evading) the FBI is worse than the risk of being convicted for stealing secrets. (It usually is.)
The second I could understand.
There's also a separate cultural clash between many Eastern cultures and many Western cultures surrounding property and ownership rights around intangible assets. I'm not well versed enough to adequately enumerate them with the appropriate level of detail.
I'll bet a dollar, though, that depending on this engineer's upbringing, one of these two applies and explains the "no big deal" mentality.