UK charges three with aiding HK intelligence

A Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office manager in London, Bill Yuen Chung-biu, was among three men charged with aiding Hong Kong's intelligence service under Britain's National Security Act.

Yuen, 63, and his alleged accomplices, Peter Wai Chi-leung, 38, and Matthew Trickett, 37, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court yesterday (HK time) and were not required to enter pleas.

Their next court appearance will be at the Old Bailey on May 24. They were all granted bail. The three are charged under the National Security Act passed last year that gave UK police additional powers to tackle foreign espionage.

In a statement late last night, the Hong Kong government demanded the UK government to provide full details of relevant information of the incident and said it was awaiting a response.

"The SAR government has seriously demanded the UK side to fairly handle the matter, effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of the office manager in question, and ensure that the normal work of the office is not affected," a government spokesman said.

Yuen is a former police officer who had served in the marine and traffic sections. He started as a police constable and was promoted to superintendent before his retirement.

He was also a schoolmate of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu at Australia's Charles Sturt University in 2002.

The two other men, Wai and Trickett, are believed to be private security contractors.

According to the UK's business registry, Wai is the founding director of private security firm, D5 Security Consultancy Ltd, which was opened in February 2020.

But it has filed an application to strike off the company from the register on March 26 this year, which means it will be dissolved after May 26.

According to the company's social media and website, Wai was a former UK policeman and had been a member of the British military.

Wai was spotted being a bodyguard protecting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu in a protest scene while he was visiting London in April last year.

Wai is also volunteer officer for the force and works as a UK Border Force officer at Heathrow Airport.

Trickett is a private investigator and immigration enforcement officer. The UK business registry also showed that Trickett is a director of a private security consultancy firm MTR Consultancy.

His profile on social media says he had been with the British Army's Royal Marines Commando for seven years, and became a security contractor and an ambulance paramedic in the UK.

Trickett is also a security consultant at D5 Consultancy Services Ltd, which shared a similar name with Wai's security firm. It was established on the same day Wai wound up his firm.

The three men were among 11 people arrested earlier this month in Yorkshire and London by counterterrorism police using provisions of a new law that allows suspects in national security and espionage cases to be detained without a warrant. The eight others were released without charge.

"A number of arrests were made and searches carried out across England as part of this investigation," commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met's counterterrorism command, said. "While these offenses are concerning, I want to reassure the public that we do not believe there to be any wider threat to them."

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com