Border Force officer and Hong Kong trade official jailed for spying for China

A UK Border Force officer and a Hong Kong trade official based in London have been jailed for spying for China in what is the first such conviction in British criminal history. Peter Wai, who conducted “shadow policing” operations on Chinese dissidents in the UK, was sentenced to 10 years while his handler, Bill Yuen, received an eight-year term. After a two-month trial at the Old Bailey, the pair were convicted under the National Security Act of assisting a foreign intelligence service. Wai, 41, a Border Force officer at Heathrow airport who previously served in the Metropolitan police and as a special constable in the City of London police, was also convicted of misconduct in a public office over his use of a Home Office computer system to acquire details about his targets. The jury heard that Yuen, 66, a senior manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, had taken over the handling of Wai shortly after they met in 2021 to conduct surveillance on dissidents. In a televised sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the defendants’ actions were “deliberate, concerted and serious”. They had caused “real and significant” harm, leaving those targeted in fear and distress, the judge said. She described Wai’s attitude towards his misconduct as “arrogant”, saying he had a “sense of entitlement” to do as he pleased. The case is one of the first to be prosecuted under the National Security Act. Bill Yuen, left, was the handler of Wai, right. …