Australian spy gets stiffer term
An Australian would-be spy who gave top-secret documents to a prostitute was jailed yesterday after a previous, more lenient sentence was overturned on appeal.
Simon Lappas, 28, who worked as an analyst with Australia's Defence Intelligence Organisation, stole the classified information in a bid to ingratiate himself with Sherryll Ellen Dowling, a prostitute whose services he had been using.
Lappas told her she could earn up to A$5,000 (HK$27,300) if she sold the documents to a foreign power.
A week after being given the secret documents, Ms Dowling contacted police, afraid Lappas had broken the law during what she perceived as an attempt to impress her.
In January, after a high-profile trial, he was found guilty of endangering national security and received a 12-month suspended sentence.
Judge Malcolm Gray ruled that the defendant's behaviour was influenced by depression and 'mental dysfunction'.
But the Court of Appeal in Canberra yesterday ruled that the sentence was too lenient and handed down a 2.5-year jail term.
Lappas will serve six months in prison. He will then be free on an 18-month good behaviour bond and may have to undergo psychiatric counselling.
