Two men, a former British immigration official and a retired Hong Kong police officer, were jailed for spying for China in a case described as shadow policing targeting Hong Kong pro-democracy figures in the UK.

One defendant, Wai, was sentenced to 10 years for assisting a foreign intelligence service and for misconduct in a public office due to misusing the Home Office computer to identify people of interest to Hong Kong authorities; his co-defendant Yuen received eight years.

The pair, Peter Wai and Bill Yuen, were convicted of aiding a foreign intelligence service after a failed plan to abduct Monica Kwong, a fraud suspect, in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.

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A correction was issued to clarify the day of the week on which the events occurred.

The sentencing and conviction were treated as breaking news on the Daily Mirror website, underscoring the case’s national security significance.

China’s embassy condemned the case as an abuse of law to embolden anti-China elements, while the judge noted that evidence from before the 2023 National Security Act could not be used.

Officials described the case as a chilling example of foreign interference and extralegal surveillance on British soil, with prosecutors stressing that such transnational repression will not be tolerated.

The case is among the first prosecutions under the National Security Act of 2023, with close collaboration between prosecutors and UK security services during the operation.

CPS and counter-terrorism officials said the convictions send a clear message that foreign interference and covert operations will not be tolerated in the UK.

The broader investigation involved seven others arrested in May 2024; one associate, Matthew Trickett, died by suicide shortly after being bailed.

The trial at the Old Bailey spanned several months and culminated in the convictions after an operation that included a staged entry into Kwong’s flat.