The London police on Monday (13th) announced the indictment of three men for violating the UK National Security Law. According to the indictment exposed by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court, they are suspected of surveilling and monitoring former Hong Kong Legislative Council member, Max Chung, as well as Simon Liu, known as “Jimmy Lai’s man”, and former General Secretary of the Confederation of Trade Unions, Mo Cheung-tat, who are wanted by the Hong Kong government.
The defendants are Chung Biu YUEN, 63, the Administrative and Trade Officer of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, Chi Leung WAI, 38, also known as Peter WAI, and Matthew Trickett, 37. The first two have dual nationality of China and Britain. The three defendants are charged with assisting foreign intelligence services and foreign interference crimes. They are also accused of attempting to forcibly enter a residence on May 1 this year.
The indictment stated that YUEN is a retired Hong Kong police officer who currently holds the position of third in charge at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London. After his arrest, he denied any connection with intelligence services to the police, claiming to have served in the Hong Kong police force for 37 years until retiring as a Police Superintendent at the age of 55. He lives in the UK with his wife, son, and daughter, expressing a preference for the UK over Hong Kong. He is responsible for security matters at the Economic and Trade Office and has seen an increase in protest activities outside the office since 2019, arranged by WAI.
WAI is employed as a UK Border Force Officer at Heathrow Airport and a Special Constable with the City of London Police. He is also a director and founder of the security company “D5 Security”. According to the company’s website, WAI has over 20 years of experience working with the UK military, police, and private security. Trickett, on the other hand, is an Immigration Enforcement Investigator at the Home Office and works as a private detective. From 2007 to 2013, he was a Royal Marine Commando and, like WAI, previously served with the UK Border Force at Heathrow Airport.
The indictment described YUEN as “playing an indispensable role in the assignment of tasks related to hostile activities,” assigning tasks to the other two defendants to engage in specific hostile activities, including information gathering, hostile monitoring, deceptive behavior, and forcibly entering homes in the UK. The two defendants allegedly received payments from the account of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London and forwarded invoices to the office.
The Hong Kong government had put up red notices to extradite several Hong Kong residents living overseas in the middle of 2023 and in December of the same year, some of whom resided in the UK. Furthermore, the UK police investigation revealed that some of the defendants’ hostile activities predated the UK’s National Security Law which came into effect in December of last year. Among these activities, YUEN and WAI’s chat records from 2021 already referenced the monitoring of Max Chung and discussions criticizing Hong Kong.
In one instance, YUEN told WAI, “This is why we continue to use your security to protect our office.” The indictment indicated that this meant YUEN represented the Economic and Trade Office in London and had a working relationship with WAI. YUEN also mentioned “our enemies” and the need to “rid of hatred,” with prosecutors believing this referred to groups like Chinese Youth Overseas.
The indictment revealed that YUEN’s phone stored photos of people protesting against China and the Hong Kong government. Trickett’s role appears to be a “primary contributor” to the tasks of YUEN and WAI. His phone contained a note dating August 16, 2023, related to surveillance tasks, referring to WAI as “Pete” and providing quotes for actions. The note listed various figures, including specifying payments for tasks related to monitoring Finn Lau (Simon Liu) and Christopher Siu Tat Mung (Mo Cheung-tat).
The contextual evidence from the note suggested that “Pete” had already made payments for the surveillance tasks in August 2023. At that time, in July 2023, the Hong Kong police had just announced the red notices for Mo Cheung-tat and Simon Liu.
Additionally, in the same month, Trickett made further notes with multiple figures and asked about the whereabouts of activities on the 31st, inquiring if they knew where the subjects lived in London, and requesting services such as surveillance and door knocking for verification and photos.
Trickett was found to have charged fees to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office for services such as online person tracing, checking addresses, door knocking, including relatives, and using open-source intelligence.
Trickett’s phone also contained detailed surveillance reports, including monitoring Max Chung, detailing his birthday, surveillance at his London residence and business addresses, including photos of demonstrators at protests in central London.
Financial investigations on the three defendants in the indictment revealed that YUEN was an employee of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London. WAI, as a director of D5 Security Consultancy, made payments from the company to a company named MTR Consultancy, labeling them as “tasks” and “September tasks”. The UK company registrar confirmed that MTR Consultancy was established on April 21, 2021, with Matthew Trickett listed as a director. The company primarily offers security, surveillance, and private investigation services.
Trickett received multiple payments from WAI or the private security company D5 Security, which were deposited into his personal and MTR Consultancy’s business accounts.
As for D5 Security Consultancy, where WAI serves as a director, between June 5, 2023, and January 31, 2024, it received three payments totaling £95,500 (approximately HK$937,000) from the UK HSBC account of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London. Funds were then transferred almost immediately to multiple individuals or companies, including Trickett and MTR Consultancy. Communication between the three defendants confirmed the receipt or payment of funds.
Trickett had previously informed the UK police that he knew WAI from the Border Force and acknowledged satisfying WAI’s needs. He also admitted to working for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London and meeting YUEN.