Moment ‘Chinese spies in UK pour water below door of kidnap goal in bid to get into her flat whereas pretending to be “Dave from maintenance”‘

Chinese spies operating in the UK poured water under the door of a kidnap target as they tried persuading her to open the door so they could get into her flat, a trial heard.

The men filmed their operation on bodyworn cameras as one of them pretended to be ‘Dave from maintenance’, calling out to the woman they believed was inside – and footage has now been shown to jurors at the Old Bailey.

Former Royal Marine Matthew Trickett, could be seen knocking on the door, claiming there had been a water leak and saying: ‘Hello, ma’am, ma’am – you need to open up.

‘We need to investigate the leak, there’s water everywhere. The other residents are complying – can you please open the door?’

In the end they forced their way into the flat in Pontefract, Yorkshire, on the evening of May 1 2024, in the hope of ‘taking hold of’ their target, the Old Bailey was told.

But UK law enforcement had secretly bugged the ‘shadow police operation’ to break into young mother Monica Kwong’s home on behalf of China, a court has heard.

Police then swooped in to arrest 11 people, including British Border Force official Peter Wai, two former Royal Marines, Beijing-based businesswoman Tina Zou and a retired Hong Kong Police superintendent.

Wai, 38, known as Fatboy, and another ex-Hong Kong police superintendent Bill Yuen, 65, are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of charges under the National Security Act.

Jurors have heard how Wai was tasked by Yuen to spy on Hong Kong dissidents and pro-democracy campaigners and British politicians for China.

Wai, who was also a special constable with the City of London Police, had allegedly accessed the Home Office computer system while off sick or on rest days to carry out research into Ms Kwong.

She had left Hong Kong in 2023 with her young son and been targeted over an alleged fraud against her influential employer, Ms Zou, who was later among those arrested in Pontefract.

Jurors were shown a series of videos of Wei’s team allegedly trying to trick their way into the flat as part of a plan to get hold of Ms Kwong and take her back to China.

Tactics included pretending to be a maintainance worker checking for an electrical fault and pouring water under the door to simulate a leak.

Trickett, 37, an immigration enforcement officer and ex-Royal Marine, was filmed by the team repeatedly knocking on the door.

When he received no response, he could be heard to tell Ms Kwong she would be ‘liable’ for any damage if she did not open up.

He went on: ‘Ma’am, can you please open the door? Ma’am, we are going to have to call the management company to open the door if you are not willing to open it.

‘We have tried to contact you but you have not answered. Can you please open the door? If you are asleep, please wake up. We are busy, have other things we need to do.

‘Can you please open the door? Do you really want us to keep on knocking on the door? We do not want to be working all night. Ma’am, please open the door.’

The team also deployed a ‘snake camera’ to film under the door to Ms Kwong’s flat, jurors were told.

Wai used ChatGPT to look up ‘does UK locksmith open any lock’ before the group accessed the property by force, it was claimed.

Wai was arrested inside Ms Kwong’s flat wearing blue latex gloves similar to police issue.

He had with him his City of London Police warrant card and £4,000 in £50 notes in a leather manbag.

A fake City of London Police ID card in which Wai was ranked a superintendent was found below a kitchen window, jurors heard.

Mr Atkinson said Wai had deployed ChatGPT to research how to produce such false identification.

While searching Ms Kwong’s kitchen, Trickett ‘panicked’ when he saw police approaching and hid his mobile phone in his underpants, the court heard.

He was later released on bail but died before the case came to trial, jurors were told.

Yuen, an employee of the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office in London, was arrested the next day at his home.

In police interviews, he denied any wrongdoing, describing his communication with Wai on a personal phone as ‘chit chat’.

Wei told police the purpose of going to Pontefract was only to serve legal documents as Ms Zou was owed money by Ms Kwong.

Wai, from Staines in Surrey, and Yuen, of Hackney in east London are jointly charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service between December 20 2023 and May 2 2024, and a second charge of foreign interference on May 1 2024 by forcing entry into a UK residential address.

Yuen and Wai allegedly ‘put a team together’ who used ‘underhand means, deception and then force, to achieve their ends’ which also included posing as electricians coming to repair a fuse.

Tina Zou and the other men are not before the court but Yuen and Wai deny assisting the Chinese intelligence service by agreeing to undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception, under the National Security Act 2023.

Yuen told police he was acting as a ‘middle man’ for a former colleague in Hong Kong who wanted to ‘locate a thief’ and used Wai, who ran a private security company.

Wai said he had been employed to provide protection officers for the trade officer and was serving legal documents in Pontefract. Cash found at his address was his savings and casino winnings, he said.

Wai also denies misconduct in public office by conducting searches of Home Office databases without justification.

The court heard that Trickett, who was running a company called MTR Consultancy, offering surveillance, security and private investigation services alongside his Home Office job, died on May 19 2024.

Hong Kong was handed over by Britain to China in 1997, at the end of a 99-year lease, under a ‘one country, two systems’ agreement but began clamping down on pro-democracy demonstrations in 2020.

The trial continues.