Singapore arrests citizen under ISA for spying for China

Singapore has slapped a two-year detention without trial on a man who had worked as a Chinese spy, some six months after his return, the city-state’s Internal Security Department (ISD) said.

Dickson Yeo, 40, will be detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) as he is considered a threat to Singapore.

“ISD’s investigations established that Yeo had worked for the intelligence apparatus of a foreign state and had carried out various tasks given to him by his foreign handlers in exchange for monetary gains,” the ISD said.

Yeo was deported to Singapore in December from the US, where he was convicted on a charge of spying for China and served a 14-month jail term. He was arrested under ISA a month later.

The ISD said Yeo sent reports on issues related to Singapore to his foreign handlers, and had set up a front company for his espionage activities.

“He had also tried, but failed, to secure employment in the Singapore government sector to further his information-gathering activities. Yeo had carried out these activities over a period from 2016 until his arrest in the US in 2019,” the ISD added.