Two Men Sentenced to Up to 10 Years for Spying on Hong Kong Activists for China

Two men, Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen and Chi Leung "Peter" Wai, were sentenced to 8 and 10 years in prison, respectively, for spying on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists in Britain for China. Wai, a former UK Border Force officer, misused his position to access data, while Yuen worked at London's Hong Kong trade office. The case is believed to be the first conviction for spying for China in the UK.

Espionage convictions

• ▪The Chinese embassy in London stated the case was "nothing but a political move of abusing the law"
• ▪The two men are believed to be the first people convicted of spying for China in Britain
• ▪Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen and Chi Leung "Peter" Wai were convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service on behalf of Hong Kong and China

Surveillance activities

• ▪Yuen was accused of passing surveillance requests from Hong Kong authorities to his co-defendant, Chi Leung "Peter" Wai
• ▪The men conducted surveillance on prominent pro-democracy dissidents based in Britain between December 2023 and May 2024
• ▪Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen, a retired police superintendent, worked as an office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London

Wai's Border Force role

• ▪Wai was convicted of misconduct in a public office for misusing his Border Force job to search an interior ministry computer database for details on targets
• ▪Chi Leung "Peter" Wai was a former UK Border Force officer and a security firm operator

Sentencing outcomes

• ▪Chung Biu "Bill" Yuen was sentenced to eight years in prison at London's Old Bailey court on June 18, 2026
• ▪Chi Leung "Peter" Wai was sentenced to 10 years in prison at London's Old Bailey court on June 18, 2026

Foreign interference threat

• ▪Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb stated the UK faces "persistent, adaptive, and often clandestine interference by foreign state actors"
• ▪The judge noted that modern foreign intelligence includes surveillance, information gathering, and intimidation of dissidents