British police recently arrested and charged three men for allegedly assisting intelligence agencies related to Hong Kong, committing crimes of foreign interference, including Yuan Songbiao, the Administrative Manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London. Another 37-year-old defendant, Matthew Trickett, died suddenly on Sunday afternoon, and local police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.
The Thames Valley Police in the UK issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon at 5:31 pm UK time stating that around 5:15 pm on Sunday afternoon, officers responded to a call from a member of the public and rushed to Grenfell Park in Maidenhead, southeast England, to provide emergency assistance to a man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Currently, local authorities are investigating this death case, categorizing it as “unexplained,” and mentioning that a post-mortem examination will be conducted at the appropriate time.
The deceased’s family has been notified, and local police are offering support. Trickett was previously on bail and was required to report to the police station regularly and await court proceedings. The Thames Valley Police had previous contact with the deceased, and as per standard procedure, this case will be handed over to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The IOPC has assessed the situation and decided that the Thames Valley Police’s Professional Standards Department will investigate the matter.
However, the statement did not specify the exact nature of Trickett’s involvement in the case. Local authorities urge anyone with relevant information, especially those who were in Grenfell Park before the incident, to contact the police.
Yuan Songbiao, Wei Zhiliang, and Trickett were released on bail after appearing in court on May 13th. They were required to surrender their travel documents, not leave the country, and abide by a curfew. Their involvement in the Hong Kong espionage case was scheduled for further hearing at the Central Criminal Court in London on Friday, May 24th.
Digging into the details, Matthew Trickett lived in Maidenhead where his body was found. He worked as an Immigration Enforcement Investigator at the UK Home Office and also served as a private detective. He was implicated in the espionage case involving surveillance missions assigned by Yuan Songbiao, targeting Hong Kong exiles like Lau Zutai and Meng Zhaoda in the UK, and collecting fees for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London.
Trickett also admitted to local authorities that he had previously worked for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London and had met Yuan Songbiao. He further confessed to assisting another defendant in the case, Wei Zhiliang, in carrying out debt collection actions at homes and pouring water under the target’s door to prompt them to open it.