SINGAPORE (CWBN)_Dickson Yeo, a Singaporean who spied on the United States for China was arrested by the Internal Security Department (ISD) of Singapore upon his return to the country on Wednesday (Dec 30).
“Mr Dickson Yeo has returned to Singapore on Wednesday, 30 December 2020 and was arrested by ISD under the Internal Security Act on the same day,” the Department said in a statement.
The ISD further noted that the government takes “a very serious view” of any Singaporean who engages in espionage at the behest of a foreign power.
On October 9, Yeo was sentenced to 14 months in prison by a US court, but was credited for the 11 months he had already spent in prison because of his cooperation with US authorities.
According to court documents, on November 7 last year, Yeo was approached by agents of the FBI at the John F. Kennedy international airport in New York, and was requested for a voluntary interview. Even though he initially refused, later Yeo had agreed, after disembarking the plane he had already boarded.
During the interview, Yeo had admitted that he worked for the Chinese intelligence services, and had agreed to continue to meet with the FBI.
Subsequently, he was arrested the following day. In July this year, Yeo pleaded guilty of operating illegally as a foreign agent in the US, by obtaining sensitive information from American citizens, on behalf of Chinese intelligence services.
However, the ISD noted that the investigations conducted by the US authorities did not reveal any direct threat to Singapore’s security. Accordingly, Yeo will be interviewed by the agency to establish if he had engaged in activities prejudicial to Singapore’s security.
“Singapore will not allow our nationals to be subverted or used by any foreign actors for activities prejudicial to our security and national interests,” the Department said.
