Young mother unaware of ‘tentacles’ from Hong Kong, China ‘shadow policing’ trial told
A young mother in pink pajamas was unaware of the “tentacles” extending from Hong Kong before a group of agents tricked her and attempted to break into her West Yorkshire home, a court heard.
Personal assistant Monica Kwong was allegedly targeted by UK Border Force officer Peter Wai, known as Fatboy, on behalf of Chinese authorities.
Jurors heard that Wai, who is also a special constable with the City of London Police, had already accessed the Home Office computer system to conduct paid research on Ms Kwong when she was not sick or on days off.
Wai, 38, a dual Chinese-British national, and retired Hong Kong police chief Bill Yuen, 65, are on trial at the Old Bailey on charges under the National Security Act.
Jurors heard how Wai was recruited by Yuen to take part in a “shadow policing” operation in the UK targeting Hong Kong dissidents, pro-democracy campaigners and British politicians on behalf of China.
Their activities were exposed on 1 May 2024 when they allegedly tried to “possess” Monica Kwong, a former Hong Kong resident, from her flat in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.
Ms Kwong left Hong Kong with her young son in 2023 amid accusations of fraud, which she said were a “charter” of her influential employer.
Jurors on Thursday were shown a series of videos in which a team of defendants allegedly tried to lure and then force their way into her home.
Video footage secretly recorded on April 24 showed Ms Kwong opening the door after responding to a knock on the door from former fraud investigator Jason Davies, who claimed he had lost his ID card.
She briefly appeared around her son’s legs, wearing pink pajamas, before closing the door again.
At 6.47pm, Mr Davies reported to teammate Matthew Trickett: “I just came in. The mother answered the door with her son. They were in their pajamas again.”
Jurors heard that Trickett, 37, an immigration enforcement officer and former Royal Marine, passed the information to Wai, who then passed it on to Yuen.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC told jurors: “Monica Kwong herself was unaware of any surveillance up to this point.
“He remembered a man who came to his door looking for his ID.
“Even then he didn’t realize that these were tentacles reaching out to him from Hong Kong.”
In the coming days, the defendants redoubled their attempts to break into Ms. Kwong’s home in an attempt to ensure her return to China, jurors testified.
Mr Atkinson said the operation “involved people linked to the Hong Kong authorities pretending Pontefract was a town in China rather than Yorkshire”.
In the April 30 video, two black-clad men, allegedly identified as Trickett and freelance close protection officer Jonathan Dunn, were captured heading to Ms. Kwong’s door.
They were accompanied by Ms. Kwong’s former boss, Tina Zou, who wore a black baseball cap, cream trench coat and orange-blue patterned backpack.
The court was told that when Trickett knocked on Ms Kwong’s door saying “hello” she had flown in from Hong Kong early that morning and was hanging out in the hallway.
The court heard that after failing to get any response from Ms Kwong, Trickett put a handwritten note under her door claiming to be from the “maintenance department” checking residents’ electrical boxes.
That evening, Wai, who was in the Hong Kong contingent, allegedly texted Trickett: “They’re going to kick the door in. I’m not getting involved.”
When asked who would do it, Wai replied: “Themselves.” The court heard.
Trickett suggested using a camera on a “snake cable” under the door that Wai ordered for delivery May 1, according to information told jurors.
On May 1, Trickett was filmed using cable before pouring water under the door, claiming to be a maintenance worker investigating a leak before the door was forced open.
After being arrested at Ms Kwong’s home, Wai allegedly took his warrant card as a City of London special constable and a second – fake – card identifying him as an inspector.
Mr Davies explained that he had been instructed to undertake a surveillance role in Pontefract to “verify and photograph the occupants of an address” so that lawyers could serve papers on the female landlady.
Yuen worked at the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office (HKETO) in London and was said to be an extension of the Hong Kong government in the United Kingdom.
The defendants are jointly charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service between 20 December 2023 and 2 May 2024, and a second charge of foreign interference by breaking into a UK residential address on 1 May 2024.
Wai is also accused of misconduct in a public office by abusing his access to the Home Office computer system.
Wai, from Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey; and Yuen, of Hackney, east London, denied the charges against them.
The Old Bailey trial was adjourned until Friday.
