Singaporean pleads guilty in US to acting as Chinese intelligence agent

WASHINGTON: In the latest incident in a growing stand-off between Washington and Beijing, a Singaporean man has pleaded guilty in the US to working as an agent of China.

The man set up a fake consulting site to solicit information from the U.S. government and military workers has pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal agent of Chinese intelligence, international media reports said quoting the Justice Department.

Jun Wei Yeo was charged with using his political consultancy in America as a front to collect information for Chinese intelligence, US officials say.

Separately, the US said a Chinese researcher accused of hiding her ties to China’s military was detained.

The United States is cracking down on Chinese spying, with the FBI having interviewed dozens of visa holders about their possible ties to Chinese intelligence.

On Friday a Chinese researcher who took refuge in the San Francisco consulate was expected to appear in court on allegations she lied about her Chinese military service, while the U.S. counterintelligence agency chief warned China and other nations could interfere with November elections.

(With inputs from agencies)