Border Patrol Agent and His Handler Sentenced to Prison for Spying for China

Author, Greg McKenzie, Daniel Sandford, Ella Kipling

Place of work, BBC

Published an hour ago

Reading time: 4 min

This is a translation of a report by BBC correspondents. The original in English can be read here.

A British Border Force officer and his handler, who worked for Chinese intelligence in the UK, have been sentenced to prison. 40-year-old Chi Leung "Peter" Wai received 10 years in prison, 65-year-old Chun Byu "Bill" Yuen - eight years.

Both were found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service, an offense under Britain's National Security Act.

Wai, using his position with the Border Force, gained access to the UK Home Office computer system and tracked Hong Kong dissidents living in the country. In addition, he was found guilty of abuse of power.

Sentencing at London's Old Bailey on Thursday, Judge Cheema-Grubb said the defendants' actions "represented a threat to the sovereignty of the state."

The men were found guilty following a trial that ended last month. Investigators say they were involved in what has been described as a "shadow police operation" carried out on behalf of Hong Kong authorities and, more broadly, the Chinese state.

The case has raised serious questions about the extent of foreign interference and the ability of hostile states to collect information on people living in the UK.

The head of London's counter-terrorism police, Helen Flanagan, said the investigation demonstrates that such activity in the United Kingdom will be dealt with harshly.

“I want to be very clear: if you are working for a foreign country, counterterrorism police and our partners will identify you and apply the full force of the National Security Act to you,” she said.

Security Minister Angela Eagle warned that the government "will continue to hold China to account and take action against any actions that put the safety of people in our country at risk," including the practice of issuing arrest warrants and rewards by Hong Kong police.

Several pro-democracy activists from Hong Kong were present in the courtroom when the verdict was announced. Among them was a woman about whom Hong Kong authorities had previously announced a reward of HK$1 million (about £100,000) for information.

Vai previously served in the British police and began working as a border officer at Heathrow Airport in December 2020.

Using access to an extensive database of foreign nationals in the UK, he helped his Chinese contacts locate Hong Kongers who had fled the region following the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement.

For assisting a foreign intelligence service, Wai received six years in prison, with another four years added for abuse of power.

Yuen, a former Hong Kong police officer who later served as office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Representative Office in London, became Wai's liaison with the Chinese authorities.

When Wai started working at Heathrow, he sent a message to the former head of the Hong Kong Police Department of Criminal Intelligence, Eddie Ma, who maintained ties to the Chinese government apparatus.

“I won’t miss a single cockroach,” Vai wrote.

During the trial in May it emerged that British politicians, including Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith, were also the target of "special attention".

Wai, who holds both British and Hong Kong passports, has held several careers throughout his career. From 2015 to 2019, he served in the London Metropolitan Police, spent eight years in the Royal Navy, worked for an event security company in London's Chinatown, and founded his own security company, D5 Security.

After leaving the Metropolitan Police, he became a voluntary constable with the City of London Police.

The court found that Wai also recruited his Border Patrol colleague, former Marine Matthew Trickett, to spy on Hong Kong dissidents.

In 2023, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced a reward of HK$1 million (about £100,000) for information on a number of pro-democracy activists.

In November 2023, Wai tasked Trickett with surveillance of prominent Hong Kong activist Nathan Lo, who also had a HK$1 million reward. At the time, Law was speaking at the student debating society Oxford Union.

Shortly after being charged under the National Security Act, Trickett was found dead. Investigators are treating his death as a suspected suicide. An inquest into the circumstances of the death is due to take place in November.

According to the head of London's counter-terrorism police, Helen Flanagan, the investigation examined more than 20 terabytes of data, including thousands of messages and materials in several languages.

Crown Prosecution Service counter-terrorism director Bethan David said Wai and Yuen's actions were "deliberate, coordinated and carried out with full knowledge of who was benefiting them."