Man from Singapore pleads guilty to spying for China in the U.S.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• U.S federal officers arrested a Singaporean living in Washington, DC, over spying related charges.
• The Singaporean, Jun Wei Yeo, admitted guilt to the charges and now facing ten years of imprisonment.
• The tension between the two superpowers is rising following the recent raid, with the U.S continuously accusing China of illegally getting medical research.  

Pressures continue to rise between the United States and China following the recent spy charges and retaliatory exchanges, further hurting the relationship between the two superpowers.

The U.S Justice Department said on Friday that a Singaporean in Washington, DC, admitted guilt to the accusation of working as an intelligence officer for the Chinese government.

The man, Jun Wei Yeo, also goes by the name of Dickson Yeo, was arrested for running a fake consulting firm aimed to mine data from U.S. government staffers and the military force. The feds reported that Yeo started working for the Chinese after he was enlisted while studying in Beijing five years ago.

The United States Assistant Attorney General John Demers said that the Chinese regime uses an assortment of deception to get sensitive data from unwary Americans, adding that Yeo is well-versed in networking schemes.

If found guilty, Yeo is facing up to 10 years of jail time, and sentencing is expected to be given in October.

The raid is the newest in a series of tensions between China and the United States in the last few days.

On the same day, the U.S law enforcement operatives made arrests of four scientists suspected of having secret ties to China’s military. Each suspect was charged with visa fraud.

Juan Tang, one suspect, who worked at the University of California (UC), Davis, had sought sanctuary in the San Francisco Chinese consulate, which in turn, was accused of protecting a known fugitive.

The federal government claimed Tang did not fully disclose her associations following the discovery of her picture in China Air Force Military uniform, an indication that she once an instructress at the Medical University department of the agency.

U.S attorneys also wrote in the documents they filed in court that Tang claimed she was never associated with the Chinese armed forces, explaining the uniform was only mandatory for attending the military’s medical school.

On Wednesday, the American government also shut down the Chinese Consulate in Houston. Authorities claimed that Chinese ambassadors there transformed the facility into a spying center, specifically for medical studies.

In response, the Chinese ordered the closure of the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu city, which has been operating with around 200 staff since 1985.  U.S representatives are given until Monday of 10 a.m. to leave the buildings.

In a statement, the Chinese foreign ministry described the situation as something China wants, adding the United States should be blamed.

Source: AOL