2 men to go on trial for allegedly helping Hong Kong authorities gather intelligence in UK

LONDON (AP) — The office manager of the Hong Kong trade office in London and another man will go on trial in February for allegedly helping Hong Kong authorities gather intelligence in the U.K. a judge said Friday.

Chung Biu Yuen, 63, and Chi Leung Peter Wai, 38, appeared at London’s Central Criminal Court for a preliminary hearing, charged with agreeing to undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception that were likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service between December 2023 and May 2.

Hong Kong authorities have confirmed that Yuen was the office manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London.

A third suspect, Briton Matthew Trickett, was also charged in the case, but he was found dead Sunday in a park under what police said were unexplained circumstances.

Prosecutor Kashif Malik said during an earlier hearing that Trickett, reportedly a U.K. immigration enforcement officer and a former Royal Marine, had attempted suicide after being charged. He was also the director of a security company.

Justice Jeremy Baker set a trial date for Feb. 10, set to last for about five weeks. The judge said the men were granted bail on condition that they observe a set curfew and other restrictions.

The three men were charged under Britain’s National Security Act after an investigation by the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command. Prosecutors allege that the suspects also forced entry into a U.K. residential address.

They were arrested earlier this month in London and Yorkshire in northern England by counterterrorism police, using provisions of a new law that allows suspects in national security and espionage cases to be detained without warrant.

The case drew strong criticism from