Arrest of Dickson Yeo: Investigations have not revealed any direct threat to Singapore's security, says MHA
Yeo Jun Wei Dickson has pleaded guilty in the US to using a fake consultancy business to obtain information for Chinese intelligence. (Photo: Facebook/Dickson Yeo)
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Sunday (Jul 26) that it was informed by the US authorities of the arrest of Dickson Yeo Jun Wei in November last year.
"Investigations have not revealed any direct threat to Singapore's security," said the ministry in a response to media queries.
"Singaporeans are expected to abide by the laws of the country which they visit or reside in. MFA is rendering the appropriate consular assistance, as required, to Yeo," MHA added.
Yeo pleaded guilty on Friday to using a fake consultancy business in the United States as a front to collect sensitive US information for Chinese intelligence. He entered his plea in federal court in Washington to one charge of operating illegally as a foreign agent.
READ: Singaporean pleads guilty in US to working for Chinese intelligence
READ: How a Singaporean man went from NUS PhD student to working for Chinese intelligence in the US
In his plea, Yeo admitted to working between 2015 and 2019 for Chinese intelligence, spotting and assessing Americans with access to “valuable non-public information”.
This included information from a civilian working with the US Air Force on the F-35B aircraft programme, another from a US officer working in the Pentagon about the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and a report about a person in the State Department about a US Cabinet member.
He recruited these people on social media under orders from the Chinese intelligence service, meeting operatives on more than 20 occasions.
Yeo’s work with Chinese intelligence operatives began as early as 2015, when he travelled to Beijing to give a presentation on the political situation in Southeast Asia, court documents show.
At the time, he was studying to receive his Doctorate of Philosophy in Public Policy from NUS.
After his presentation, he was recruited by individuals who claimed to represent China-based think tanks and offered Yeo money in exchange for political reports.
