Community service order for leaking EPD's computer data
2000-3-30
An officer of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) was sentenced to 80 hours of community service at Eastern Court today (Thursday) for leaking EPD ' s computer information to help a friend obtain noise abatement business.
Mok Pui-chung, 26, Environmental Protection Inspector, was earlier found guilty of four counts of obtaining access to a computer with dishonest intent between September 1, 1998 and June 16, 1999.
The court heard that Mok had been employed by an environmental engineering company before joining the EPD in October 1996. In EPD, 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 then the proprietor of an environmental protection consultancy firm.
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.
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 earlier found guilty of four counts of obtaining access to a computer with dishonest intent between September 1, 1998 and June 16, 1999.
The court heard that Mok had been employed by an environmental engineering company before joining the EPD in October 1996. In EPD, 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 then the proprietor of an environmental protection consultancy firm.
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.
The prosecution was today represented by Government Counsel Gary Lam, assisted by ICAC officer Winnie Lee Wai-yee.