自從得悉經貿辦間諜案今早將於俗稱Old Bailey的中央刑事法院提訊，好多粒綠豆便忙於籌劃這次的法庭採訪。

即使綠豆記者在香港有採訪法庭的經驗，但對英國法院審訊程序的認識等於零。後來發現原來Old Bailey保安極嚴密，除非以記者身分入庭，否則進入法院大樓的公眾均不能攜帶電話、電腦、電池、相機或攝錄器材，所帶的隨身袋大小亦有所限制。

由於法院只承認指定的記者證，為了以記者身分入庭聽審並作文字直播，綠豆們連日聯絡有關部門以取得入庭採訪的資格。幾經爭取，於案件開庭前最後一小時，綠豆記者終於獲准以記者身分入庭採訪。

案件吸引多間香港傳媒派員採訪，亦有傳媒選擇事前向法庭申請，取得連結看法庭直播，遠距離旁聽案件。主控官甫開庭即向法官指，得悉有很多人獲批觀看法庭直播，但亦請法官再次提醒觀看直播的人士，必須遵守不得截圖及轉播的規定。

綠豆記者進入法庭，通過金屬探測器掃描安檢後，便直奔一樓的第六號法庭。上到一樓看到左邊一排法庭大門，右邊則是讓大狀、被告及家屬休息或議事的多排長櫈及長枱，場景與香港的高等法院類似，只是建築風格比較「懷舊」，感覺熟悉但又陌生，令人想起昔日在高院埋頭苦幹聽審或等夜庭的日子。

A Hong Kong government official in the UK and a security company director accused of spying have on Friday been told to face trial in February next year, although the prosecution dropped charges for an alleged co-conspirator who was found dead days before the hearing.

It is the first time that Yuen Chung-biu (known as Bill Yuen), 63, who is manager of the Hong Kong Government’s Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London, and 38-year-old security firm owner Wai Chi-leung, aka Peter Wai, appeared in court after the death of the third defendant, 37-year-old former Royal Marine commando Matthew Trickett on 19 May. Police have earlier said they were investigating Trickett’s death at a Berkshire park under “unexplained circumstances”.

The case which sees the trio being charged by the UK authorities for assisting a foreign intelligence service and foreign interference have stirred a diplomatic storm since their first mention at a lower court on 13 May. The Chinese side has so far dismissed the allegations as unjustified, while British politicians are starting to question the role of Hong Kong’s trade outpost in London amid on-going concerns about the freedom and human rights situation in the SAR.

Yuen, who was accompanied by barrister Sailesh Mehta, arrived at the Central Criminal Court in London (known as the Old Bailey) about an hour ahead of the case’s preliminary hearing at 10.15am. Wai appeared at about 9.40am, surrounded by an entourage of several suited men, including barrister Justin Hugheston-Robert. Both Yuen and Wai made no comment in response to media questions on how the death of Trickett has affected their case’s prospects.

Spotting dark suits and sitting upright inside court, both Yuen and Wai followed attentively at the exchange between the prosecution, their defence lawyers and Mr Justice Jeremy Baker who presided at the case’s preliminary hearing. The prosecution told the court that charges against Trickett were dropped due to his death. Trickett’s side did not send any legal representation.

Yuen and Wai – both with dual Chinese and British nationality, did not enter a plea. They have been told to expect trial by jury at the Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court scheduled for 10 February 2025, with the hearing estimated to take up to six weeks. They are due to reappear at the Old Bailey on 25 October 2024 for another pre-trial review.

In concluding the half-hour hearing, the judge agreed to remove the requirement for the pair to carry electronic monitoring devices during their time on bail, although the rest of the current bail conditions, including police monitoring of mobile communications, confiscation of travel documents and curfew from 10pm to 5am, will continue.

As a large part of the evidence raised by the prosecution involves digital communications, the judge asked whether the defence would require expert witnesses on this front. Lawyers of both defendants responded in the negative, but did not rule out such possibilities as the case progresses.

The trio first appeared at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 13 May 2024. The court heard that between 20 December 2023 and 2 May, Yuen, Wai and Trickett agreed to undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception that were likely to assist a foreign intelligence service, in contrary to section 3 (1) and (9) of the National Security Act 2023. It is also alleged that they forced entry into a UK residential address on 1 May, being reckless as to whether the prohibited conduct, or course of conduct of which it forms part, would have an interference effect, contrary to section 13 (2) and (7) of the act.

The high-profile hearing today at the Old Bailey – a court usually reserved to hear criminal cases of the most serious nature – marks the first time that Hong Kongers have been prosecuted under the UK’s new national security legislation. It has attracted an unusually large number of local and foreign journalists – where almost half of them representing the Chinese and English-language Hong Kong media. Several mandarin-speaking men, sporting casual jackets and wearing cross-body bags or rucksacks, were seen attempting to gain entry first to the press and later the public galleries. They had been turned away because of failure to fulfill stringent entry requirements imposed by the court, which include a ban to carry commonplace personal items such as mobile phones, laptop computers and backpacks into the public galleries.

Members of the public unaware of the banning list were not the only group inconvenienced by the requirements, which had caused a stir among tourists, legal students, and other journalists competing for space with Hong Kong officials who received no privileges. Amy Wong Hoi-ling, Deputy Director General of HKETO, and Assistant Director General Stanley Woo Man-hong who joined the queues for the public galleries at about 9.30am, almost missed the occasion. After hastily leaving to deposit their mobile phones and bags at a nearby shop for a fee, they re-joined the back of the queue in tandem at 10.14am – a minute before the start of the hearing. Wong managed to enter the public galleries in time to hear the judge’s final comments to the defendants before the hearing closed at 10.42am.

Wong was seen to be conversing with a third suited man in a low voice when she exited the court building. When confronted by the media after the hearing, Wong declined to comment on questions such as how the case has affected the ETO’s operation, whether Yuen would continue working for the office, if legal support would be given to the defendants, and whether representatives from the Chinese Foreign Ministry have attended the hearing or have been in touch about the case.

During a meeting with the British Consulate General on Thursday, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah demanded the UK side to give an open account of Trickett’s death as soon as possible “to let the public know the truth and prevent unwarranted speculation”, according to the bureau.

英國政府起訴香港駐倫敦經貿辦行政經理袁松彪及另兩名男子，協助香港情報機構蒐集情報和外國干預罪。案件今早在中央刑事法院作初步聆訊，控方對已證實死亡的Matthew Trickett終止起訴。案件定於明年2月10日在Kingston Crown Court 開審，預計聆訊需時4至6星期，屆時將會有陪審團。

三名被告為退休警司、現任香港駐倫敦經貿辦經理袁松彪（63歲）、曾經駐守希斯路機場的邊防人員衞志樑（38歲），以及前皇家陸戰隊成員、在內政部擔任移民官的Matthew Trickett （37歲）。

案件今日由法官Jeremy Baker處理，袁松彪由大律師 Sailesh Mehta代表，衞志樑則由大律師Justin Hugheston-Robert代表。Matthew Trickett沒有代表出庭。

袁及衞今天穿著整齊西裝應訊，獲安排坐於律師席最後排，毋須進入犯人欄。法庭書記請兩人站立確認身分，書記一度讀錯袁的名字，袁一臉茫然，及後需要袁親口改正「My name is Chung Biu Yuen」。聆訊期間兩人正襟危坐，袁全程雙手放於枱上，留心聽著雙方代表律師的發言。

控方向法庭稱，由於驗屍官已證實Matthew Trickett死亡，申請終止對他的起訴。

法官將案件定於明年2月10日在Kingston Crown Court開審，控辯雙方預計審訊需時4至6星期。案件並將於10月25日在中央刑事法庭預審。

袁松彪和衞志樑今日獲准以相同條件保釋，並獲准移除電子腳鐐。保釋條件包括交出旅遊證件及不准離境，不得接觸另一被告或證人，遵守每天晚上10時至翌日早上5時的宵禁令，每周向警方報到，並知會警方他們所使用的應用程式，不得刪除對話紀錄，而警方可隨時檢閱手機訊息。

三人共被控兩項違反英國《2023年國家安全法》罪行，第一項控罪指他們在2023年12月20日至2024年5月2日期間協助境外情報部門，同意在英國進行資訊收集、監視和欺騙行為。第二項控罪，則指他們涉嫌5月1日強行進入英國一個居住地址，犯有「外國干預」。

押後期間三名被告獲准保釋。惟其中Matthew Trickett於5月15日被發現陳屍寓所附近公園，警方指案件仍在調查，死因未明。

初步聆訊於今晨10時42分結束。當律師與法官在庭內討論審訊時間表和保釋條件等程序時，庭外排隊的公眾席人龍曾一度出現混亂情況，法庭訪客、市民、法律系學生和香港記者，以及對法院來說並沒有任何特權的經貿辦官員，都要排隊爭位入內旁聽。

經貿辦副處長黃凱鈴和助理處長胡文匡雖然早在9時30分已開始排隊，但他們顯然「冇做功課」，不知道法庭保安規定不得攜帶手提電話或大袋進入，只有望門輕嘆。他們一度急步離開，把物品存放在法院附近一間商店，未知是不是《綠豆》今早提醒市民，每個袋每天寄存費用要5英鎊的商店呢？

兩位經貿辦官員在上午10時14分重新加入隊列。這未免太遲了！聆訊在上午10時15 分就要開始。結果，兩人在上午10時42分聆訊將近結束前，及時進入公眾席，應該還可以聽到法官講的尾音。

黃凱鈴離開法院時，記者看到她與胡文匡以外的另一位穿西裝的男子低聲交談。她在庭外拒絕就案件如何影響經貿辦的運作、袁松彪是否會繼續在經貿辦返工、經貿辦是否會向被告提供法律支援，以及有否就事件接觸中國駐英大使等作任何評論。

The preliminary hearing completed at 10.42am. While the lawyers discussed with the judge about the timetabling issues and the bail conditions, chaos reigned outside the queue for the public galleries where tourists, legal students, and Hong Kong journalists competed for space with HKETO officials who received no privileges.

Despite queuing since about 9.30am, HKETO Deputy Director General Amy Wong Hoi-ling and Assistant Director General Stanley Woo Man-hong were apparently unaware of the security requirements that no mobile phones nor large bags can be admitted. After hastily leaving to deposit their belongings at a nearby shop, they rejoined the back of the queue in tandem at 10.14am – too late to make it to the start of the hearing at 10.15am.

Wong entered the public galleries in time to hear the judge’s final comments to the defendants before the hearing closed at 10.42am.

Wong was seen to be conversing with a third suited man in a low voice when she exited the court building. When confronted by the media after the hearing, Wong declined to comment on questions such as how the case has affected the ETO’s operation, whether Yuen would continue working for the office, if legal support would be given to the defendants, and whether representatives from the Chinese Embassy have attended the hearing or have been in touch about the case.

間諜案今晨於中央刑事法院進行的初步聆訊結束。案件排期在明年2月10日於Kingston Crown Court開審，預計審訊四至六星期。兩名被告袁松彪及衞志樑將於本年10月25日再次出庭作審前覆核。

兩被告今日獲准以相同條件保釋，並獲准移除電子腳鐐。保釋條件包括交出旅遊證件及不准離境，不得接觸另一被告或證人，遵守每天晚上10時至翌日早上5時的宵禁令，每周向警方報到，並知會警方他們所使用的應用程式，不得刪除對話紀錄，而警方可隨時檢閱手機訊息。

袁松彪及衞志樑分別離開法庭

間諜案今早於中央刑事法院作初步聆訊，案件由法官Jeremy Baker處理。隨著原第三被告Matthew Trickett離世，有關對他的起訴也終止。案件排期在明年2月10日於Kingston Crown Court開審。

兩名被告袁松彪及衞志樑將於本年10月25日再次出庭作審前覆核。

The spy case has its preliminary hearing at the Central Criminal Court this morning before Justice Jeremy Baker. The prosecution against the 3rd defendant, Matthew Trickett, was discontinued following his death. The case is scheduled for trial at Kingston Crown Court on 10 February next year.

The two defendants Bill Yuen and Peter Wai will attend the court again for pre-trial review on 25 October this year.

第二被告衞志樑與法律團隊於上午9時40分抵達法院。被《綠豆》問及他有否獲經貿辦的法律支援，以及第三被告離世對案件的影響，他都保持沉默。

Second defendant Peter Wai arrived with the legal team at 9.40am. He stayed silent when asked by Green Bean whether the death of the 3rd defendant had any impact on his case. He also stayed silent when asked if he has received any legal backing by HKETO.

經貿辦官員與袁松彪「前後腳」抵達法院，他們一開始未能找到正確入口，曾到律師、陪審團和傳媒入口嘗試進入，後來被指示在公眾入口排隊。被《綠豆》記者問及此案對經貿辦在英國的角色和地位產生的影響，以及第三被告離世對此案的影響，兩位官員都沒有回應。

HKETO officials arrived five minutes after Bill Yuen, and they made a failed attempt to gain entry through the entrance reserved for lawyers, jury and the press. They have been directed to queue at the public entrance. Both officials did not answer to Green Bean’s question on whether the case has any impact to HKETO’s role and position in the UK, nor the effect of the death of the third defendant has on the case.

第一被告香港駐倫敦經貿辦行政經理袁松彪於上午9時18分在律師陪同下抵達法院大樓。被《綠豆》記者問及第三被告Matthew Trickett離世對本案有何影響時，袁保持沉默。

First defendant Bill Yuen just arrived the court building at 9.18am accompanied by his lawyer. When asked by Green Bean whether he thinks the death of third defendant Matthew Trickett has any impact to the case, Yuen kept his silence.

Security measures at the Old Bailey have always been stringent – unlike the lower magistrates’ courts which are comparatively easy on admittance procedures. Here at the Old Bailey, if you are not lawyers, defendants, juries and journalists who are given fast-track access through the main gate, members of the public, including family of the defendants (and possibly representatives of the Hong Kong ETO) who want to observe the proceedings are required to queue at a dark side alley through a wooden door leading to the public galleries.

We are told by the security personnel that because of the status of the court building and the nature of the criminal cases being heard here, tighter security measures mean commonplace personal items such as mobile phones, laptop computers and backpacks are prohibited from being brought into the public galleries. But we have been given the tips that those who are unaware of the banned item list do not need to miss the hearings – there are shops down the road which offer safekeeping service for bags and mobile phones for as little as £5 per day.

A bright London sky greets rush hour commuters who are starting to pour out from the underground stations in the City of London, where the Central Criminal Court – known as the Old Bailey, is situated. Before the court opens for the Friday hearing, which is the last sitting day before the bank holiday long weekend, an unusually large press pack starts to gather outside the imposing building where some of the most notorious criminal cases had been tried at the capital.

中央刑事法院有嚴格的保安要求，除了例行要經金屬探測器掃瞄之外，攜帶進入公眾席的物品也有一定限制，公眾人士如攜帶大背囊或大袋，一旦高於32厘米、闊度超過27厘米、厚度超過13厘米，就不能帶進公眾席。即使不帶任何袋子，但帶著電話、電腦、電池、相機或攝錄器材，或是飲品、糖、香口膠、電子煙等，都不得進入公眾席。想寄存行李嗎？法院不設寄存服務。帶著電話又想聽審，就要預早抵達，走到距離法院五分鐘左右的店舖，有商店有寄存物品的房間，記者之前查詢過，每個袋每天寄存費用 5 英鎊。當然，貴重物品，不能跟身，都是不要帶去法院了。

英國政府起訴香港駐倫敦經濟貿易辦事處行政經理袁松彪及另兩名男子，涉嫌協助香港情報機構蒐集情報和外國干預，其中一名被告Matthew Trickett在法院保釋期間被發現陳屍公園。此宗間諜案今早於中央刑事法院作初步聆訊，案件由法官Jeremy Baker處理，預計會為審訊定下進程。

三名被告為退休警司、現任香港駐倫敦經貿辦行政經理袁松彪（63歲）、曾經駐守希斯路機場的邊防人員衞志樑（38歲），以及前皇家陸戰隊成員、在內政部擔任移民官的Matthew Trickett （37歲）。三人於5月13日首次在西敏裁判法院提堂，案件押後至今晨10時15分，轉交中央刑事法院處理。

押後期間三名被告獲准保釋。Matthew Trickett於5月19日被發現陳屍寓所附近公園，警方指案件仍在調查，死因未明。

三人共被控兩項違反英國《2023年國家安全法》罪行，第一項控罪指他們在2023年12月20日至2024年5月2日期間協助境外情報部門，同意在英國進行資訊收集、監視和欺騙行為。第二項控罪，則指他們涉嫌於5月1日強行進入英國一個居住地址，犯「外國干預」。

Two Hong Kongers arrested earlier by the British police for allegedly spying for the Hong Kong authorities will appear before the Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, at 10.15am this morning for a preliminary hearing.

Yuen Chung-biu (known as Bill Yuen), 63, office manager of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London who is a retired superintendent of the Hong Kong Police, and 38-year-old security service company director Wai Chi-leung, aka Peter Wai, will answer the charges for assisting a foreign intelligence service and foreign interference.

In a tragic development on Sunday 19 May, the third defendant of the case, 37-year-old British immigration enforcement officer and former Royal Marine Matthew Trickett, was found dead in a public park near Maidenhead, Berkshire. The British Police are investigating the death under “unexplained circumstances”.

Today’s proceeding, which will be conducted at Court 6 of the Old Bailey before Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, is listed as a preliminary hearing where the prosecution and the defence are expected to discuss case management issues such as timetabling.

The trio, who have been granted bail, first appeared at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 13 May 2024. The court heard that between 20 December 2023 and 2 May, Yuen, Wai and Trickett agreed to undertake information gathering, surveillance and acts of deception that were likely to assist a foreign intelligence service, in contrary to section 3 (1) and (9) of the National Security Act 2023. It is also alleged that they forced entry into a UK residential address on 1 May, being reckless as to whether the prohibited conduct, or course of conduct of which it forms part, would have an interference effect, contrary to section 13 (2) and (7) of the act.

The case has caused an escalating diplomatic row between London, Beijing and Hong Kong where the Chinese side has dismissed the allegations as unjustified, while British politicians have started questioning the role of Hong Kong’s trade outpost in London amid on-going concerns about the freedom and human rights situation in the SAR.