Singaporean man in U.S. pleads guilty to spying for China

A Singaporean man has pleaded guilty to acting as a spy for Chinese intelligence in the United State, this is according to the US Department of Justice.

Jun Wei Yeo, also known as Dickson Yeo, admitted that he provided valuable information to Chinese intelligence and knowingly recruited others in the US to do the same.

The Justice Department, in a statement, said Yeo “entered a plea of guilty to one count of acting within the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign power without first notifying the Attorney General, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 951. “

According to the statement, Mr. Yeo made the confession before “the Honorable Tanya S. Chutkan in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia”, via videoconference.

The U.S. Government had earlier accused China of spying, an allegation denied by Beijing.

The conflict between the two countries had escalated recently, leading to the shutting of the Chinese Consulate in the US.

China also retaliated by shutting one of the US Consulates in the country.

Michael R. Sherwin, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, argued that the development was proof that China was indeed allegedly trying to steal the intellectual property of the country.

Mr. Yeo also admitted to setting up a fake consulting firm in 2018 to further his scheme and looked for individuals with sensitive information who were vulnerable to recruitment.