A former UK Border Force officer has been jailed for 10 years after being convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service and misusing Home Office computer systems to obtain sensitive information about people in the UK.
Chi Leung Wai, 41, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on 18 June 2026 alongside Chung Biu Yuen, who received an eight-year prison sentence. The case followed an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing into activity carried out for the benefit of Hong Kong and Chinese authorities. According to the Metropolitan Police, the pair had targeted pro-democracy campaigners living in Britain.
Wai, who lived in Staines-upon-Thames, had previously worked as a Border Force officer and was also a special constable with the City of London Police. Yuen, 66, from Hackney, was a former Hong Kong police officer who worked at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London.
The Metropolitan Police said the investigation uncovered evidence that the men were gathering information about pro-democracy activists and passing details to people linked to the Hong Kong authorities. The information included details about individuals’ homes, vehicles and social media accounts.
The investigation began after police disrupted an attempt to target a woman living in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. She had moved to Britain from Hong Kong in 2023 after being accused of fraud by her former employer in Hong Kong, an allegation she denied.
According to the Metropolitan Police, a group of people travelled to the woman’s flat in May 2024 in an attempt to locate her. Members of the group tried to persuade her to open the door by pretending to be maintenance workers and claiming there was a water leak. When she did not respond, they attempted to force their way inside.
Counter Terrorism Police arrived shortly afterwards and arrested nine people at the property. The subsequent investigation focused on communications between Yuen, Wai and others connected to the operation. Detectives examined more than 20 terabytes of digital material, including thousands of messages and information in several languages.
Police said the evidence showed that requests for information were being passed from Hong Kong to Yuen, who then tasked Wai and another man, Matthew Trickett, with carrying out surveillance and information-gathering activities.
Wai was found to have used Home Office systems to access information about Chinese and Hong Kong nationals in Britain. According to the Metropolitan Police, investigators identified instances in which he accessed official databases for information about people who were of interest to the group.
The significance of the case was also raised in the UK Parliament. A written question tabled by Lord Alton of Liverpool in May asked the Government whether China should be placed in the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme following the convictions of Wai and Yuen. Parliament recorded the question as having been prompted by the recent convictions.
Another parliamentary question asked what measures the Government would take to better protect sensitive data and people considered particularly vulnerable to transnational repression following Wai’s conviction for misconduct in public office.
The issue was subsequently addressed by the Government in Parliament. According to the House of Lords’ written answers, the Chinese ambassador was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 8 May following the convictions. The Government said it had made clear that Britain would not tolerate attempts by foreign states to intimidate, harass or harm people or communities in the UK.
The parliamentary response also stated that the Government would continue using available measures to protect national security and hold China accountable for actions considered to undermine Britain’s safety and democratic values.
The Metropolitan Police said Wai and Yuen were both convicted on 7 May of assisting a foreign intelligence service, an offence under the National Security Act 2023. Wai was additionally convicted of misconduct in public office.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on foreign-interference charges against the two men. The police investigation nevertheless established, according to the force, that information was being gathered about UK-based pro-democracy campaigners and passed on for the benefit of Hong Kong authorities.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, described the investigation as complex and said the convictions demonstrated the seriousness with which the UK treats attempts by foreign states to target people living in Britain.
The case has therefore become both a criminal prosecution and a wider national-security issue, prompting questions in Parliament about foreign influence, the protection of sensitive Government information and the safety of people facing potential transnational repression in the UK.