Woman 'tapped into man's e-mail to turn down six figure salary job offer'

August 31, 2001

An Iowa student is accused of tapping into a former friend's e-mail to turn down a highly-paid job for him.

Maths student King Chong Iris Fung, of Iowa State University, allegedly impersonated the unnamed man and rejected the £137,000-a-year technology job.

She is charged with electronic eavesdropping and could face a year in jail.

ISU campus police would not disclose the name of the alleged victim but said he met Fung at a Wisconsin college and now lives in Virginia. Fung, 36, is a doctoral candidate from Hong Kong.

Police claim Fung had been looking at her former friend's e-mails, and those of his wife, for nine months. She allegedly accessed one or both e-mail accounts at least 33 times.

"The exact nature of their relationship has not been determined," said Jerry Stewart of ISU campus police. "I don't think they've seen each other for several years."

Fung became a suspect after the firm which made the $200,000-a-year (£137,000) job offer told the friend they were disappointed he had chosen not to accept.

Fung got access to the man's email account by guessing his password "after numerous attempts" Mr Stewart said.

Fung turned herself in to police and will appear in court next month, reports the Des Moines Register.

A police spokesman said the victim might be able to sue if the job offer was permanently withdrawn.