-3the server had enough surplus capacity to prevent the attack from having any
effect upon its other operations.
The Charge
6.
The appellant was charged with criminal damage, contrary to section
60(1) of the Crimes Ordinance Cap 200, namely that he without lawful excuse
damaged property belonging to another intending to damage such property or
being reckless as to whether such property would be damaged. It is an offence
punishable by a maximum of ten years imprisonment. The meaning of “damage
any property” was given an extended meaning by a definition inserted into
section 59 by the Computer Crimes Ordinance 1993 (Ordinance No 23 of 1993).
A new subsection 59(1A) provided that in relation to a computer, damage to
property included “misuse of a computer”. This phrase was in turn defined to
mean:
“(a)
To cause a computer to function other than as it has been established
to function by or on behalf of its owner, notwithstanding that the
misuse may not impair the operation of the computer or a program
held in the computer or the reliability of data held in the computer;
(b)
to alter or erase any program or data held in a computer or in a
computer storage medium;
(c)
to add any program or data to the contents of a computer or of a
computer storage medium…”
The Issue
7.
The principal issue in this appeal is whether the appellant had caused
the computer “to function other than as it has been established to function by or
on behalf of its owner” within the meaning of paragraph (a) of section 59(1A).