A British court has jailed two men linked to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London for up to 10 years for spying on activists, prompting immediate condemnation from the city government, which reiterated that their convictions involved “unfounded allegations and smearing”.
Bill Yuen Chung-biu, an office manager at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, was sentenced to eight years in prison for assisting a foreign intelligence service on Thursday.
Co-defendant Peter Wai Chi-leung, a security firm operator and former part-time UK Border Force officer, was imprisoned for 10 years for the same charge and another for misconduct in a public office.
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The sentencing by Mrs Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb at the Old Bailey followed a morning of intense legal mitigation, during which defence lawyers pushed back against prosecution claims that the duo’s actions amounted to a “betrayal” of their adopted country.
Hongkongers Yuen, 65, and Wai, 40, have been remanded in custody since the court found them guilty in May. They will both serve at least two-thirds of their sentences.
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Yuen, a retired police superintendent, was accused of passing surveillance requests from Hong Kong authorities to Wai while working at the trade office.