Matthew Trickett: UK man charged with spying for Hong Kong found dead in a park
Hong Kong Free Press
Matthew Trickett, one of three men involved in a high-profile UK national security case, has been found dead in a park in the UK.
Responding to a report from a member of the public, police officers found a man in Grenfell Park, in Maidenhead, on Sunday, Thames Valley Police said in a statement released on Tuesday. They provided emergency treatment but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police confirmed the man had been formally identified as Matthew Trickett, 37, from Maidenhead. “An investigation is ongoing into the death, which is currently being treated as unexplained,” the police said, adding that a post-mortem will be conducted.
The UK charged three men earlier this month under a new national security legislation that came into effect in December 2023. The trio were connected to a Hong Kong government trade office in London.
Bill Yuen, Peter Wai, and Trickett, were arrested in early May after allegedly attempting to break into the home of a British National (Overseas) passport holder who left Hong Kong last December — an act that was suspected to amount to prohibited conduct under the foreign interference offence.
They are also accused of participating in “information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception, that [were] likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service carrying out UK-related activities” between December 20, 2023, and May 2, 2024.
According to the case summary, Trickett was an immigration enforcement officer and a director of a security firm called MTR Consultancy that focuses on security, surveillance and private investigations. He lived in Maidenhead.
Trickett previously served as a British Royal Marine between February 2007 and March 2013. He received a penalty notice for disorderly behaviour in 2005.
The three defendants appeared before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London last Monday and were granted bail pending the next hearing on Friday.
According to British media reports, a prosecutor had challenged Trickett’s bail request and told the court that Trickett had told two separate custody sergeants that he would take his own life once he was released.
Yuen, 63, is an officer manager at the London Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) and a retired police officer. He is accused of tasking Wai and Trickett with conducting surveillance operations and the home break-in.
Hong Kong’s leader John Lee has dismissed “unwarranted accusations” that the city funded the surveillance of overseas activists wanted by national security police, urging Britain to “fairly handle” the case.
| 💡If you are in need of support, please call: The Samaritans 2896 0000 (24-hour, multilingual), Suicide Prevention Centre 2382 0000 or the government mental health hotline on 18111. The Hong Kong Society of Counselling and Psychology provides a WhatsApp hotline in English and Chinese: 6218 1084. See also: HKFP’s comprehensive guide to mental health services in Hong Kong. |
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