HK duo on UK spying charges to face trial in February, after “unexplained death” of co-defendant
A Hong Kong government official in the UK and a security company director accused of spying have on Friday been told to face trial in February next year, although the prosecution dropped charges for an alleged co-conspirator who was found dead days before the hearing.
It is the first time that Yuen Chung-biu (known as Bill Yuen), 63, who is manager of the Hong Kong Government’s Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London, and 38-year-old security firm owner Wai Chi-leung, aka Peter Wai, appeared in court after the death of the third defendant, 37-year-old former Royal Marine commando Matthew Trickett on 19 May. Police have earlier said they were investigating Trickett’s death at a Berkshire park under “unexplained circumstances”.
The case which sees the trio being charged by the UK authorities for assisting a foreign intelligence service and foreign interference have stirred a diplomatic storm since their first mention at a lower court on 13 May. The Chinese side has so far dismissed the allegations as unjustified, while British politicians are starting to question the role of Hong Kong’s trade outpost in London amid on-going concerns about the freedom and human rights situation in the SAR.
Bill Yuen (left)
Peter Wai
Yuen, who was accompanied by barrister Sailesh Mehta, arrived at the Central Criminal Court in London (known as the Old Bailey) about an hour ahead of the case’s preliminary hearing at 10.15am. Wai appeared at about 9.40am, surrounded by an entourage of several suited men, including barrister Justin Hugheston-Robert. Both Yuen and Wai made no comment in response to media questions on how the death of Trickett has affected their case’s prospects.
Spotting dark suits and sitting upright inside court, both Yuen and Wai followed attentively at the exchange between the prosecution, their defence lawyers and Mr Justice Jeremy Baker who presided at the case’s preliminary hearing. The prosecution told the court that charges against Trickett were dropped due to his death. Trickett’s side did not send any legal representation.
Yuen and Wai – both with dual Chinese and British nationality, did not enter a plea. They have been told to expect trial by jury at the Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court scheduled for 10 February 2025, with the hearing estimated to take up to six weeks. They are due to reappear at the Old Bailey on 25 October 2024 for another pre-trial review.
In concluding the half-hour hearing, the judge agreed to remove the requirement for the pair to carry electronic monitoring devices during their time on bail, although the rest of the current bail conditions, including police monitoring of mobile communications, confiscation of travel documents and curfew from 10pm to 5am, will continue.
As a large part of the evidence raised by the prosecution involves digital communications, the judge asked whether the defence would require expert witnesses on this front. Lawyers of both defendants responded in the negative, but did not rule out such possibilities as the case progresses.
The trio first appeared at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 13 May 2024. The court heard that between 20 December 2023 and 2 May, Yuen, Wai and Trickett agreed to undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception that were likely to assist a foreign intelligence service, in contrary to section 3 (1) and (9) of the National Security Act 2023. It is also alleged that they forced entry into a UK residential address on 1 May, being reckless as to whether the prohibited conduct, or course of conduct of which it forms part, would have an interference effect, contrary to section 13 (2) and (7) of the act.
The high-profile hearing today at the Old Bailey – a court usually reserved to hear criminal cases of the most serious nature – marks the first time that Hong Kongers have been prosecuted under the UK’s new national security legislation. It has attracted an unusually large number of local and foreign journalists – where almost half of them representing the Chinese and English-language Hong Kong media. Several mandarin-speaking men, sporting casual jackets and wearing cross-body bags or rucksacks, were seen attempting to gain entry first to the press and later the public galleries. They had been turned away because of failure to fulfill stringent entry requirements imposed by the court, which include a ban to carry commonplace personal items such as mobile phones, laptop computers and backpacks into the public galleries.
Members of the public unaware of the banning list were not the only group inconvenienced by the requirements, which had caused a stir among tourists, legal students, and other journalists competing for space with Hong Kong officials who received no privileges. Amy Wong Hoi-ling, Deputy Director General of HKETO, and Assistant Director General Stanley Woo Man-hong who joined the queues for the public galleries at about 9.30am, almost missed the occasion. After hastily leaving to deposit their mobile phones and bags at a nearby shop for a fee, they re-joined the back of the queue in tandem at 10.14am – a minute before the start of the hearing. Wong managed to enter the public galleries in time to hear the judge’s final comments to the defendants before the hearing closed at 10.42am.
Amy Wong Hoi-ling (left) and Stanley Woo Man-hong
Wong was seen to be conversing with a third suited man in a low voice when she exited the court building. When confronted by the media after the hearing, Wong declined to comment on questions such as how the case has affected the ETO’s operation, whether Yuen would continue working for the office, if legal support would be given to the defendants, and whether representatives from the Chinese Foreign Ministry have attended the hearing or have been in touch about the case.
During a meeting with the British Consulate General on Thursday, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah demanded the UK side to give an open account of Trickett’s death as soon as possible “to let the public know the truth and prevent unwarranted speculation”, according to the bureau.
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