UK Immigration Officer Among Two Men Guilty Of Spying On Hong Kong Dissidents For China

A UK immigration officer was among two men found guilty at the Old Bailey yesterday of assisting Chinese intelligence by spying on Hong Kong dissidents in Britain. Chi Leung 'Peter' Wai, 40, a Border Force officer at Heathrow Airport, and Chung Biu 'Bill' Yuen, 65, a retired Hong Kong police superintendent and office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, were convicted under the National Security Act.

Wai was also found guilty of misconduct in public office for misusing the Home Office immigration database. The verdicts mark the first convictions of their kind for activities on behalf of China under the legislation.

Shadow Policing on British Soil

Wai abused his access to the Home Office Atlas immigration database to track dissidents and their families while off duty or on sick leave. He passed the information to Yuen, who directed the operation from the HKETO in central London.

Sky News reported that the targets included high-profile exiles such as Nathan Law and Finn Lau, both subject to HK$1m bounties worth about £100,000 ($136,300) each, as well as UK politicians supportive of the Hong Kong cause, including Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith.

The pair enlisted others in their network, including former Royal Marine Matthew Trickett, who was tasked with following Law at the Oxford Union in November 2023. Trickett was found dead in a suspected suicide shortly after the three men were charged.

As per BBC the two dual British-Chinese nationals carried out what prosecutors described as 'shadow policing operations' on UK soil between 20 December 2023 and 2 May 2024. They targeted prominent pro-democracy activists who had fled Hong Kong following Beijing's crackdown on dissent, referring to them in messages as 'cockroaches'.

Database Misuse and Break-in Attempt

In April 2024, the group travelled to Pontefract in West Yorkshire targeting Monica Kwong, a personal assistant accused of fraud in Hong Kong. They used a snake camera to film under her door and broke into the empty property. An audio bug planted by MI5 recorded the intrusion, during which Wai allegedly threw a fake City of London Police warrant card from a window.

Wai had also previously threatened a protester with arrest using an unofficial police identity card. The trial, which lasted two months at the Old Bailey, heard evidence of these activities forming part of efforts linked to Hong Kong authorities.

The jury could not reach a verdict on an additional charge of foreign interference linked to the break-in, with the prosecution opting not to pursue a retrial.

Strong Official Response

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London Commander Helen Flanagan described the activities as 'both sinister and chilling'. 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.' The government has summoned the Chinese ambassador to the Foreign Office over the matter.

Both Wai and Yuen have been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on 15 May. The case has highlighted growing concerns over transnational repression targeting dissidents in the UK. BBC Breaking News announced the verdicts on X, stating: 'UK immigration officer among two men guilty of carrying out 'shadow policing' on behalf of China in Britain.'

This UK immigration officer guilty of spying for China case is likely to intensify calls for tighter safeguards against foreign interference on British soil.