Hear the word “spy” and most of us would probably think of James Bond.
But much like fried chicken from KFC, spies come in all shapes and sizes, most of whom look like they spend most of their time in the library rather than running around shooting enemies while wearing nice, black suits.
After all, a spy’s main job is to collect top information from a top-secret source, typically for political gain for their own country.
This is why the case of Dickson Yeo continues to fascinate us.
In 2019, Yeo, a Singaporean, was arrested for spying on the US for China. After being sentenced to jail in the US, Yeo was deported to Singapore, where he was detained by the Internal Security Department (ISD).
Now, two years later, the 40-year-old has been released.
China Spy S’porean Dickson Yeo Released from ISD Detention As His Threat is ‘Neutralised’
Yeo was released today (14 Dec) from the ISD after being detained in Jan this year.
The ISD explained that it released Yeo because his threat had been “neutralised”.
Their investigations revealed that his dealings with China were clandestine in nature.
Recruited on an Online Networking Site
Chinese intelligence officials had first reached out to Yeo back in 2015, where they invited him to an academic symposium overseas to write reports for them.
It was during his trip to Beijing that he was recruited by Chinese operatives who initially claimed to represent China-based think tanks.
But Yeo came to learn that at least four of these individuals were intelligence operatives for the PRC (People’s Republic of China) government.
One of the intelligence operatives later asked Yeo to sign a contract with the PRC People’s Liberation Army (PLA), but he refused. Still, he continued to work for Chinese operatives and carried out various tasks from 2016 to 2019 in exchange for money.
At first, these tasks were focused on Southeast Asia, but this was later expanded to the US.
Approached People in Singapore
When he was first approached by Chinese agents, Yeo was studying for a doctorate at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the NUS.
While carrying out the tasks assigned to him, Yeo also approached some people in Singapore whom he thought could provide useful, privileged information.
Under the instructions of his handlers, he even set up a fake consulting company, with the goal of obtaining sensitive information about the US Commerce Department, artificial intelligence, and the US-China trade war.
He then posted job advertisements online to identify potential writers, under the pretext of identifying “research topics” for foreign clients.
Yeo was eventually caught by the American authorities and arrested in Nov 2019. He was sentenced to 14 months’ jail.
He was later deported to Singapore, and detained by the ISD.
Did Not Obtain Any Classified Information About Singapore
Perhaps one of the mitigating factors for Yeo, as the ISD revealed, is that he did not obtain any classified information about Singapore while he had engaged in espionage.
Now, the ISD does not believe that Yeo warrants continued detention as he poses no security threat.
There are some conditions that Yeo will have to comply with, however. Otherwise, he could be re-detained.
As for what those conditions are, we don’t know, as the ISD has not elaborated on them.
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Featured Image: Facebook (Dickson Yeo)