A U.K. border official and a former Hong Kong police officer have been convicted of assisting China's spy agency by conducting what prosecutors described as 'shadow policing' operations in Britain. The verdict was delivered on Thursday at the Central Criminal Court in London.
Details of the Conviction
Peter Wai, 40, a U.K. Border Force officer and special constable for the City of London Police, and Bill Yuen, 65, a former Hong Kong Police superintendent employed by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, were found guilty of violating the National Security Act by aiding a foreign intelligence service. Wai was also convicted of misconduct in public office.
Prosecutors argued that the pair posed as legitimate police or intelligence officers to conduct surveillance and gather information about Hong Kong dissidents and pro-democracy supporters in the U.K.
Official Reactions
Bethan David, head of counterterrorism at the Crown Prosecution Service, stated: 'These convictions send a clear message that transnational repression, foreign interference, unauthorized surveillance, and attempts to operate outside the law will not be tolerated on British soil. This conduct was deliberate, coordinated and carried out with full knowledge of who it would benefit.'
Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang was summoned to the British Foreign Office following the convictions. Security Minister Dan Jarvis said: 'The activities carried out by these men, on behalf of China, are an infringement of our sovereignty and will never be tolerated. We will continue to hold China to account and challenge them directly for actions which put the safety of people in our country at risk.'
Hong Kong's government issued a statement saying it was not a party to the case but firmly opposed 'unfounded allegations' against it or the London trade office.
The Investigation and Evidence
The plot came to light after counterterrorism police, during their own surveillance, disrupted an operation in May 2024 involving nine people attempting to break into the northern England home of Monica Kwong, a woman from Hong Kong. Kwong had been accused by her former employer, Beijing-based Australian businesswoman Tina Zou, of committing a £16 million ($21.8 million) fraud, which Kwong claimed was a setup.
Those arrested at Kwong's home in West Yorkshire included Zou, Wai, and two other retired Hong Kong police officers. Yuen, who was in contact with the group, was arrested in London. Investigators later uncovered communications evidence showing Wai was assigned by Yuen to spy for Hong Kong and China.
Phone messages revealed that the two conducted surveillance on former Hong Kong lawmaker Nathan Law and activists they referred to as 'cockroaches.' Yuen instructed Wai to pay special attention to members of Parliament or government employees, and in 2023, provided the name of prominent politicians, including Conservative lawmaker Iain Duncan Smith, co-chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.
Additional Charges and Developments
Matthew Trickett, a U.K. immigration enforcement officer who was also arrested at Kwong's home, was later found dead in a suspected suicide. Zou was never charged. The jury could not reach verdicts on charges of foreign interference related to the break-in.
Hong Kong authorities had offered up to nearly £100,000 ($136,000) for information leading to the capture of pro-democracy supporters. Yuen exceeded his role as office manager by gathering intelligence on the locations and activities of Hong Kong activists and politicians who had moved to the U.K. after the introduction of a national security law in Hong Kong.
Wai, who was paid from a trade office account, was convicted of misconduct for misusing police computer systems while off duty to gather information.
This case highlights ongoing tensions between the U.K. and China over espionage and interference activities on British soil.
