Singaporean man pleads guilty to spying for China in the US

On Friday, prosecutors announced that a Singaporean man, Jin Wei Yeo, admitted to being China’s illegal agent. Wei Yeo also goes by the name Dickson Yeo. 

It has been reported that Yeo was working with the Chinese government for the past 4-5 years. He has confessed to recruiting Americans with close access to cybersecurity. He then obtained reports from them, which were sent to the Chinese government. 

John Denver, Assistant Attorney General, said in a statement, “Yeo was central to one such scheme, using career networking sites and a false consulting firm to lure Americans who might be of interest to the Chinese government.” He further accused the Chinese government of exploiting America’s openness. 

This news comes amidst the rapidly deteriorating US-China relations. On the same day, the Chinese consulate in Houston saw US federal agents’ forced entry as well. The consulate was to shut down on Tuesday after a scientist was arrested for espionage against the US. 

As a retaliation, the Xi Jinping government ordered the US consulate to cease all its operations in Chengdu. They have also accused the US consulate of stealing private and public Chinese data. 

Source