Spurned lover who looked up ex-boyfriend’s information on Hong Kong government computer system avoids jail

A Hong Kong Social Welfare Department clerk was today put on probation for 15 months for accessing the personal information of her ex-boyfriend and his wife on a government computer system to help her exact revenge after their relationship ended.

Passing sentence, Eastern Court Deputy Magistrate Winston Leung Wing-chung said the seriousness of the offences committed by Yuniko Au Yeung Ka-man, was that the department’s computer system contained a large amount of personal information, and the 38-year-old accessed it without authority.

Au Yeung, who had worked with the department for 20 years, earlier pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of obtaining access to a computer with a view to dishonestly gain for herself. She was convicted after trial.

Previously, the court heard that from March 8 to March 26 in 2013, Au Yeung logged into the system 10 times without authorisation and viewed the information of her ex-boyfriend Wong Dik-man and his wife Chung Wai-man. Au Yeung argued during the trial that she accessed the system with Wong’s consent.

In 2011, Au Yeung and Wong broke up after they had dated each other for one year. Shortly after that, Wong, together with his pregnant wife Chung, went to the department’s family and child protective services section at Southorn Centre in Wan Chai, where Au Yeung was working.

The court heard Au Yeung thought the couple aimed to embarrass her in front of her colleagues and cause trouble for her. The couple later received a lawyer’s letter from Au Yeung, and Wong was shocked that she had his address. The offences came to light after Wong filed an enquiry with the department.