Men jailed for spying for Chinese intelligence in UK

14 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on Google Greg McKenzie, Old Bailey, Daniel Sandford, UK correspondentand Ella Kipling Metropolitan Police Chi Leung "Peter" Wai and Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen were found guilty on Thursday after a trial at the Old Bailey A Border Force officer and his "handler" have been jailed for spying on Hong Kong pro-democracy dissidents in the UK on behalf of China. Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, 40, was sentenced to 10 years and Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen, 65, given an eight year term after being found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service, an offence under the National Security Act. Wai, who used his position to access the Home Office computer system to track down people for his contacts, was also convicted of misconduct in public office. The judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told the dual Chinese-British nationals that their actions "threaten the sovereignty of the state" during sentencing at the Old Bailey on Thursday. The men, who were found guilty after a trial last month, were involved in what detectives described as a "shadow policing operation... conducted on behalf of the Hong Kong authorities, and by extension, the Chinese state". Wai, of Staines-upon-Thames, was a former UK police officer who began working as a Border Force officer at Heathrow Airport in December 2020 and accessed a vast database of information about foreign nationals in the UK for his contacts. He was sentenced to six years for assisting a foreign intelligence service and an additional four years for misconduct in public office. Yuen, from Hackney, a former Hong Kong police officer who went on to work as the office manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, became Wai's contact with Chinese authorities. Chi Leung "Peter" Wai The case raised serious questions about foreign interference and the ability of hostile states to gather information on individuals living in Britain. A Hong Kong government spokesperson said the "relevant conviction involved unfounded allegations and smearing" and accused the UK side of initiating the case on "groundless accusations", adding it "abused law and manipulated judicial procedures to secure conviction". The spokesperson said the allegations in the case were unrelated to the Hong Kong government or its Economic and Trade office in London, where Yuen works, and it would continue to refute the accusations. In the public gallery on Thursday, a number of pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong watched as the sentences were handed down.