Federal prosecutors on Monday charged a New York Metropolis police officer with appearing as an unlawful agent of the Chinese language authorities, accusing him of offering intelligence about Tibetans dwelling in the USA to officers on the Chinese language consulate.
The officer, Baimadajie Angwang, 33, was taken into custody on Monday, officers mentioned. He has served as a patrol officer and presently acts as a liaison between the Police Division and the neighborhood within the 111th precinct in Queens.
A 25-page prison grievance unsealed in federal courtroom in Brooklyn accused Mr. Angwang of reporting on the actions of ethnic Tibetans in New York on the behest of Chinese language authorities officers, who have been looking for to recruit intelligence sources in the neighborhood.
Mr. Angwang additionally informed a Chinese language consulate official that his place was useful to China as a result of he may present delicate details about the inner operations of the Police Division, the grievance mentioned.
A lawyer for Mr. Angwang didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. The Police Division mentioned Mr. Angwang had been suspended with out pay.
Mr. Angwang can also be a member of the Military Reserve, the place he holds the rank of workers sergeant and has a “secret”-level safety clearance, which permits him entry to categorized data, prosecutors mentioned.
Along with the cost of appearing as an unlawful agent, Mr. Angwang faces three different counts of wire fraud, making false statements and obstruction.
Born in China, Mr. Angwang initially traveled to United States on a cultural change visa and later sought asylum. He claimed that he had been arrested and tortured in mainland China due to his Tibetan ethnicity, in line with the grievance. He’s now a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Mr. Angwang’s dad and mom and brother dwell in mainland China. His dad and mom are members of the Communist Social gathering, and his father is a retired member of the Chinese language army, the grievance mentioned.
Tibet, an autonomous area in China, has been a flash level in U.S.-China relations for many years. Beijing considers Tibet to be a part of its historic empire, however many Tibetans consider the area was illegally included into China in 1951 and have pressed for independence. The Chinese language authorities has lengthy considered the Tibetan independence motion as a risk to its stability.