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WASHINGTON – Dickson Yeo, the Singaporean who pleaded guilty to spying for China in the United States, said at his sentencing hearing on Friday (October 9) that he still supported China.
“I sympathize with China’s position, but I didn’t mean to harm anyone,” said Yeo, 39, who received 14 months in jail. “All I want to do is go home to my family.”
He said he took full responsibility for his actions and thanked the United States government for showing professionalism in handling his case.
“But I still sympathize with the Chinese cause,” he said. “There is a general feeling in China that the United States is willing to bleed China out.”
District Judge Tanya Chutkan said that despite Yeo’s suspicions about the United States, she had been granted the full panoply of rights and due process, including access to a defense attorney.
“You are not being punished for your thoughts or your political beliefs,” he said. “I would like to point out that they have treated it in a way that showcases the best of our system.”
Yeo, 39, has been in a Washington jail since he was arrested last November, and these 11 months in jail will be credited as part of his sentence, Judge Chutkan said.
Prosecutors asked for a 16-month sentence in light of Yeo’s cooperation with authorities, while Yeo’s attorney asked for a time-served sentence, which would have been approximately 13 months, including the time it would take to be removed from office. From United States. It is unclear when he will be deported from the United States.
“He did not betray Singapore and he has no malice towards the United States or any American citizen. He was deeply attracted to China and its ability to lift millions out of poverty with industrial policy, which led to him being easily swayed, ”said his attorney, Michelle Peterson, in court documents seen by The Straits Times.
In July, Yeo pleaded guilty to acting under the direction of Chinese intelligence officials to obtain confidential information from US citizens.
Later, a PhD student at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, Yeo used social media to attack US military and government employees who had access to confidential information and persuaded them to write reports for money. cash.
Unbeknownst to them and over a period of at least four years from 2015 to 2019, Yeo would pass these reports on to his handlers in the Chinese intelligence services.
The defense
In asking for leniency in sentencing, Yeo’s lawyer said he was very sorry, that he had immediately accepted responsibility for his conduct and made no secret of anything from the US authorities.
“He deeply regrets that he was caught up in the whirlwind of satisfying Chinese intelligence requirements and compromising his own integrity.”
Yeo suffers from hypertension and anxiety, as well as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his national service in Singapore, his lawyer said.
He also felt lonely, broke and struggling academically when he was recruited by Chinese intelligence services, he added.
“The Chinese gave him more respect and dignity for the work he was doing than he could get from his efforts in academia,” he said, adding that Yeo recognized that he was vulnerable.
Yeo’s professional reputation is now in shambles and he will have a hard time landing even a basic job in Singapore, he said.
“He wants nothing more than to return to a quiet life with his parents,” he added.
Argument of the prosecution
Prosecutors said Yeo’s conduct was serious and deserved a meaningful sentence. They argued that he was preparing to obtain classified information when he was arrested and that his work for the Chinese intelligence services was not a single trial ruling.
“The threat posed by the People’s Republic of China (People’s Republic of China) is serious and long-lasting. The defendant Yeo voluntarily became part of that threat, ”they said, noting that his work for Beijing is part of the larger context of the continuing theft of information from China to the United States.
“He understands that China seeks to diminish the influence of the United States in the world. In fact, the defendant has admitted that he was motivated by a desire to help China do just that, ”they said.
“He used the craft of espionage and took advantage of the openness of American society and the Internet,” they added.
However, they also acknowledged that he pleaded guilty early in the case and cooperated with the US government.
Circumstances of Yeo’s arrest
Court documents revealed that Yeo agreed to be interviewed by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and decided not to board a plane that could have taken him out of the United States without problems.
Judge Chutkan said Yeo’s actions showed a desire to open up, which she included in her sentence.
“He did not take the escape route that could have been given him. He changed his mind and decided to speak with the agent, and shortly after, without the benefit of an attorney, he confessed, “he said yesterday at Yeo’s sentencing hearing in federal court.
“Since then, you have done everything possible to try to do things right and make up for your actions,” he added. “One thing is to do something wrong, but another is to correct it.”
Prosecutors said Yeo had initially been interviewed by border agents when he entered the country through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on November 6. He did not reveal then that he worked for the Chinese intelligence services.
However, he told officials that he had met with officials and diplomats to write articles on how China treats smaller strategic states like Singapore and South Korea, adding that some of his work could be considered “borderline corporate espionage.”
After the interview, Yeo deleted the WeChat app that he had used to communicate with his Chinese handlers from his mobile phone and booked a flight outside the United States the next day.
On November 7, he returned to the airport, where he was approached by FBI agents, who asked him for a voluntary interview.
Although he initially refused to be interviewed and went to board his flight, Yeo changed his mind, returned to FBI agents and agreed to be interviewed, according to court documents.
Yeo spoke about his activities and admitted that he was working for Chinese intelligence. He agreed to continue meeting with the FBI after that interview.
He was arrested and taken into custody the next day, November 8.
Arguing for a lighter sentence, Yeo’s attorney, Ms. Peterson, noted that she agreed to submit to the United States legal system, even though she was completely free to board a plane and leave the country without repercussions.
“When he was approached at the airport, he was free to go. However, he agreed to be questioned by the agents. He got off the plane when he didn’t have to and was fully informed, ”he said in court documents.
This, he said, was an “exceptional level of acceptance of responsibility and a genuine show of remorse.”
This article was first published in The times of the strait.
