Dickson Yeo Back in S’pore & Detained; Said He Spied Not Just on US But Other Countries, Too

Dickson Yeo, the alleged China spy who spied on the US, is now back in Singapore.

And he’s now being detained again.

Previously, in a high-profile case, Yeo admitted to spying on the US for China with the use of the internet and job seekers in the US.

You can read this super long article about the incident.

He was charged and sentenced to 14 months’ jail.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of his ordeal.

Dickson Yeo Back in S’pore & Detained; Said He Spied Not Just the US

On 30 Dec 2020, Yeo returned to Singapore from the US.

And upon his arrival, he was detained again, this time by the Internal Security Department (ISD) from Singapore.

ISD said that Yeo, when he was being investigated for spying on the US, revealed that his previous intelligence tasks also involves spying on states other than the US.

ISD is now investigating if Yeo has “engaged in activities prejudicial to Singapore’s security.”

Will Be Firmly Dealt With

In their statement, ISD also says that Singapore takes a “serious view” of any individuals who enter into a secret relationship with a foreign government and spy for them.

“Singapore will not allow our nationals to be subverted or used by any foreign actors for activities prejudicial to our security and national interests,” said the department.

“The Government takes a very serious view of any Singaporean who enters into a clandestine relationship with a foreign government and engages in espionage or subversive activities at the behest of the foreign power.”

Any individuals caught, ISD says, will be firmly dealt with.

As investigations are ongoing, ISD isn’t able to reveal any details yet.

Dickson Yeo: The S’porean Spying On The US For China

Yeo is a Singaporean and was enrolled as a PhD student at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, where he researched China’s framework of treatment for small states along its Belt and Road Initiative trajectory.

He was in Bejing to give a presentation on the political situation in South-east Asia in 2015 when he was recruited by China intelligence operatives.

In 2018, his handlers told him to create a fake consulting company, and his goal was to obtain non-public information about the US Commerce Department, artificial intelligence, and the US-China trade war.

Yeo would meet up with ex-employees from the US’s various departments and convince them to write a report as part of their job application for a client in other countries.

He promised them that he’ll send the report over to these clients but in reality, the “client” is China.

All in all, with the help of algorithm and the internet, he managed to amass 400 resumes and 90% of them from US military and government personnel with security clearances…all in four years.

US prosecutors in charge of the case had asked for a 16-month jail term but Yeo’s defence lawyer managed to get him a prison sentence of 14 months, with the 11 months he had spent behind bars during the investigation credited to the jail term.

Yeo had returned willingly to FBI investigators to confess despite being able to escape scot-free from the US.

Yeo has been expelled from NUS. China has also denied that he was spying on the US for them.

Feature Image: Facebook (Dickson Yeo) / MHA