UK Sentences 2 Men to up to 10 Years in Jail for Spying for China

A former UK immigration officer and a Hong Kong trade official were convicted of spying ​on pro-democracy activists fleeing to the UK from Hong Kong.

This combination of file photos created on May 7, 2026, and taken on March 2, 2026, shows Yuen Chung-biu (L) and Wai Chi-leung (R), both charged with assisting Hong Kong intelligence service, as they arrive separately ahead of their trial at the Old Bailey in central London. Carlos Jasso/ AFP via Getty Images

A London court has sentenced two men, including a former UK immigration officer, to up to 10 years in prison for spying on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists in the UK on behalf of the Chinese regime.

Wai Chi-leung and Yuen Chung-biu—both dual UK and Chinese nationals—were found guilty in May under the National Security Act 2023 for aiding a foreign intelligence service.

Wai, 41, was also convicted of misconduct in a public office in relation to misusing the UK interior ministry’s systems to track targets while employed at London Heathrow’s British Border Force.

After a hearing at the Central Criminal Court in central London, Wai received a 10-year sentence, while Yuen was sentenced to eight years in jail, according to sentencing remarks livestreamed by local media outlet Sky News.

They were believed to be among the first in the UK to be convicted of spying for China, according to local media.

Yuen, 66, is a retired ⁠Hong Kong police officer who worked at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London. He allegedly tasked Wai with carrying out spying and surveillance activities targeting Hong Kong pro-democracy activists.

Messages on Yuen’s phone indicate that their surveillance of Nathan Law, a former Hong Kong lawmaker and a prominent pro-democracy advocate, began as early as 2021, according to prosecutors. Law is among more than a dozen pro-democracy advocates for whom the Hong Kong national security police have offered HK$1 million (about US$127,650) bounties for information leading to their whereabouts or arrests.

Helen Flanagan, commander for Counter Terrorism Policing London, which led the investigation into the high-profile case, has described the pair’s activities as “both sinister and chilling.”

Ahead of the June 18 sentencing, the Hong Kong government removed Yuen’s name from the official directory, according to a check by The Epoch Times at midnight local time on June 17. Hong Kong media reports indicated that he was listed on the official website earlier on June 17. It is unclear when Yuen left his position at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London.

A protester places photos of three men charged with assisting Hong Kong's foreign intelligence service in the UK on the door of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, in London on May 14, 2024. Toby Melville/Reuters

The national security case was made public in May 2024 after London police stopped an attempt to break into Monica Kwong’s home.

Kwong, who fled to the UK from Hong Kong in late 2023, was targeted by a group that included Wai, former UK Royal Marine Matthew Trickett, two former Hong Kong police officers, and her former employer in Hong Kong, who accused her of fraud.

They tracked Kwong to her West Yorkshire residence in northern England. To get her to open the door, they posed as maintenance workers repairing a water leak and poured water under her door, according to UK counterterrorism police.

When they attempted to force entry, UK police who had been investigating them arrested everyone involved.

Yuen was arrested shortly after and was subsequently charged under the National Security Act alongside Wai and Trickett.

Trickett, a 37-year-old immigration officer and private investigator, was found dead in a park near his home in May 2024 after being granted bail following the charge.

Following the trial in May, the UK foreign ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador to state that intimidation of people on UK soil is unacceptable and threatens the UK’s sovereignty.

British Indo-Pacific Minister Seema Malhotra reiterated the government’s position earlier this week when asked about Hong Kongers’ concerns about Chinese influence in the UK that threatened their safety.

“We are very clear that the UK will not tolerate any attempts by foreign states to intimidate, harass, or harm individuals or communities in the United Kingdom,” Malhotra told the Parliament on June 16. “That continues to be our position.”