Inspector found guilty of leaking EPD's computer information
2000-3-16
An officer of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) was convicted at Eastern Court today (Thursday) of leaking EPD's computer information to help a man obtain noise abatement business from restaurants.
Mok Pui-chung, 26, Environmental Protection Inspector, was found guilty of four counts of obtaining access to a computer with dishonest intent between September 1, 1998 and June 16, 1999.
Magistrate Mr Lambert Lee adjourned the case until March 30, 2000 for sentence, pending a background report.
The court heard that Mok was in the employ of an environmental engineering company in 1995. After joining the EPD in October 1996, Mok was posted to the Noise Management and Policy Group.
In early 1997, Mok was approached by a former colleague of the environmental engineering company for EPD's internal information on restaurants, which were the subjects of EPD's complaints or prosecutions.
His former colleague was the proprietor of a company which provided consultancy services on environmental protection.
The information was said to have facilitated the proprietor in securing noise abatement business from the restaurants concerned.
The court was also told that on four occasions, Mok had dishonestly obtained access to a computer of EPD to retrieve from the Industrial Noise Complaint Database information concerning cases of prosecutions conducted by EPD.
Such records were first copied onto a floppy disk in four files - " Sep-nov98.doc", "nov.doc ", "Feb99.doc" and " may99.doc " . Mok subsequently transmitted them to his former colleague through a personal computer and a fax modem at home.
Mok was granted bail of $5,000 in cash. He was also ordered not to leave Hong Kong and not to interfere with prosecution witnesses.
The prosecution was today represented by Government Counsel Gary Lam, assisted by ICAC officer Winnie Lee Wai-yee.
Mok Pui-chung, 26, Environmental Protection Inspector, was found guilty of four counts of obtaining access to a computer with dishonest intent between September 1, 1998 and June 16, 1999.
Magistrate Mr Lambert Lee adjourned the case until March 30, 2000 for sentence, pending a background report.
The court heard that Mok was in the employ of an environmental engineering company in 1995. After joining the EPD in October 1996, Mok was posted to the Noise Management and Policy Group.
In early 1997, Mok was approached by a former colleague of the environmental engineering company for EPD's internal information on restaurants, which were the subjects of EPD's complaints or prosecutions.
His former colleague was the proprietor of a company which provided consultancy services on environmental protection.
The information was said to have facilitated the proprietor in securing noise abatement business from the restaurants concerned.
The court was also told that on four occasions, Mok had dishonestly obtained access to a computer of EPD to retrieve from the Industrial Noise Complaint Database information concerning cases of prosecutions conducted by EPD.
Such records were first copied onto a floppy disk in four files - " Sep-nov98.doc", "nov.doc ", "Feb99.doc" and " may99.doc " . Mok subsequently transmitted them to his former colleague through a personal computer and a fax modem at home.
Mok was granted bail of $5,000 in cash. He was also ordered not to leave Hong Kong and not to interfere with prosecution witnesses.
The prosecution was today represented by Government Counsel Gary Lam, assisted by ICAC officer Winnie Lee Wai-yee.