UK immigration officer among two men guilty of working for Chinese intelligence

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. UK immigration officer among two men guilty of working for Chinese intelligence6 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleDaniel SandfordUK correspondentPAChi Leung "Peter" Wai misused his access to the Home Office computer systemA UK immigration officer has been found guilty of working for Chinese intelligence as part of a "shadow policing operation". Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, 38, used his access to the main immigration database to track Hong Kong dissidents based in the UK. He was found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service alongside Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen, 65, who was initially his contact with the Hong Kong authorities.

Wai was also found guilty of misconduct in public office. The jury could not agree on a charge against both men of foreign interference. The prosecution said it would not be seeking a retrial.

The Details

Wai started working as a Border Force officer at Heathrow Airport in December 2020, which gave him access to a vast database of information about foreign nationals in the UK. He searched it on his days off and sick days, earning money on the side by tracking Hong Kongers who had fled pro-democracy crackdowns for his Chinese contacts. But he had been providing information on dissidents before then, referring to them in messages as "cockroaches".

Wai also drew a fellow Border Force officer, an ex-Royal Marine called Matthew Trickett, into his surveillance of Hong Kong dissidents, the court heard. Trickett was found dead in a suspected suicide soon after they were caught by counter-terrorism police. Wai, who holds both British and Hong Kong passports, had many jobs - including as a Metropolitan Police officer from 2015 to 2019.

He was in the Royal Navy for eight years, and worked for a company providing security for events in Chinatown. Wai had also set up his own company, D5 Security. After leaving the Met, he became a volunteer constable for City of London Police.

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The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.