Computer expert fined $NZ10,000 for Y2K ``sabotage'' Tuesday, January 30, 2001, 14:28 NZPA A computer expert who sabotaged his employer's company and endangered South Taranaki's water supply in 1999 was yesterday fined $NZ10,000 and ordered to make $NZ5000 reparation.

Roger Lindsay Blick, 40, of Christchurch, was found guilty in the New Plymouth District Court last November of two charges of theft as a servant (stealing computer equipment and documentation from LANS NZ) and two charges of wilfully damaging a programmable logic controller (PLC) and notebook computer by deleting data from them.

Blick had been employed by Stratfordbased LANS NZ to help make the South Taranaki District Council's Waimate West water treatment plant Y2K compliant.

In September 1999, after designing the compliance program and loading it into the PLC, Blick suddenly left Taranaki.

LANS NZ subsequently found the program had been deleted.

Police found some LANS NZ documentation and equipment at Blick family properties.

Judge Harding said Blick's actions had jeopardised the council's plans to have the water plant fully Y2K compliant and had the potential to adversely affect the district's water supply.

http://www.it.fairfax.com.au/index.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 31, 2001

Answers

What a find, Martin!! I wonder why this one took so long to hit the news.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), January 31, 2001.

Sometimes I surprise myself!

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 31, 2001.