The identity of a suspected sex pest can be revealed to the victim under the Privacy Ordinance, an academic said yesterday.
Speaking at a seminar on sexual harassment, Carole Petersen, associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, said: 'The Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance should not prevent the university from disclosing the name of the [alleged] harasser to the victim'.
The law carries an exemption for disclosure if it is for the purpose of the prevention or detection of crime.
Professor Petersen said if the university knew the identity of an alleged harasser, it should give the name to the victim 'so that she can pursue her remedies as required by the Sex Discrimination Ordinance'.
A spokeswoman at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said that she agreed with the exemption.
But she added that 'the law does not obligate the university to disclose the information because its spirit is primarily the protection of privacy'.