Barry Young, 56, in Wellington District Court on Monday morning. Photo: RNZ / Ruth Hill
A Te Whatu Ora employee accused of stealing Covid 19 data and using it to spread misinformation about vaccine-related deaths has appeared in court.
Barry Young, 56, is charged with accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years' prison.
Te Whatu Ora has alleged Young downloaded the data, which was later published on an overseas website.
Young appeared briefly in Wellington District Court on Monday morning.
His lawyer Matthew Hague said his instructions were to seek bail.
The case was put back to the afternoon for a bail hearing.
Judge Andrew Nicholls said he would make a decision that day.
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