Former British immigration official Peter Wai and retired Hong Kong police officer Chung Biu Yuen have been jailed for spying for China. Wai, 41, conducted 'shadow policing' operations on Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters living in the UK on orders from his handler Yuen, 66.
Details of the Case
The dual Chinese-British nationals were arrested after a failed attempt to snatch Monica Kwong, a suspect in a £16 million fraud, from her flat in Pontefret, West Yorkshire. Following a two-month trial at the Old Bailey, they were convicted under the National Security Act of assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Wai, a former Metropolitan Police officer, was also convicted of misconduct in a public office for misusing the Home Office computer system to gather information on people of interest to Hong Kong authorities.
Sentencing
On Thursday, Wai, from Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Yuen, from Hackney, east London, received an eight-year sentence. In a televised sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb described their actions as 'deliberate, concerted, and serious,' causing 'real and significant' harm and leaving targets in fear and distress. She called Wai's attitude 'arrogant,' noting his 'sense of entitlement.'
This case is one of the first prosecuted under the National Security Act, which took effect in 2023.
Background of the Defendants
Wai served as a frontline uniformed officer with the Metropolitan Police in Hounslow from February 2015 to April 2019, when he resigned while under investigation for misconduct. He had accessed police records for friends but was not found to have used the database for spying at that time.
He later worked at Heathrow Airport for the UK Border Force, as a special constable with City of London Police, and set up a private security firm before beginning to spy for Yuen. He accessed the Home Office database while on sick leave and days off.
Yuen, a former Hong Kong police superintendent, was office manager at the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office (HKETO) in London, considered an extension of the Hong Kong government. Investigators linked Yuen directly to the Chinese government's Security Bureau through his contact with another former police chief.
Targets and Operations
Targets included Hong Kong dissidents, with 'special attention' paid to British politicians such as senior Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith. Wai referred to Hong Kongers as 'cockroaches' while gathering information on their vehicles, residences, and social media accounts.
Prominent campaigner Nathan Law, who has a one million Hong Kong dollar bounty on his head, was photographed leaving the Oxford Union during one surveillance operation.
Monica Kwong, a personal assistant, had left Hong Kong with her young son in 2023 amid fraud allegations, which she denied. After locating her, the defendants assembled a team to access her home using deception and force, leading to their arrest on May 1, 2024.
Matthew Trickett, 37, an immigration enforcement officer and former Royal Marine, attempted to trick his way into the flat by pretending there was a flood. Security services, alerted to the plot, were monitoring the activities and waiting inside the flat when the team broke in.
Arrests and Aftermath
Upon Wai's arrest, officers found his warrant card as a special police constable and a fake card identifying him as a superintendent. Of the 11 people detained under the National Security Act, only Trickett was charged alongside Wai and Yuen. However, a week later, Trickett died by suicide in woodland near Maidenhead, Berkshire.
In mitigation, Yuen's lawyer Jonathan Caplan KC disputed that the 'highly regarded' former senior officer had 'betrayed' his adopted country, stating that Yuen was proud to live in the UK. Wai's lawyer Aftab Jafferjee KC argued there was no 'harm' to the UK, claiming it was not a spy ring in any traditional sense.
Helen Flanagan, commander for Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: 'The activity of Wai and Yuen was truly chilling. They were spying and targeting individuals in the UK who were pro-democracy campaigners and were simply protesting against the Hong Kong and Chinese government and authorities and seeking sanctuary in the UK.'
