Pharmacist sentenced

ANGERED by allegations of being a drunk and a thief, a former pharmacist in New Zealand has earned himself three months community detention, for a revenge campaign against his former employers.

Simon Cooper was sentenced on three charges of causing harm by posting digital communication and creating a false document.

Hamilton District Court heard that Cooper had been found guilty of professional misconduct and fined NZ$35,000 last year in relation to incidents that occurred while employed by Hamilton Pharmacy between Jan 2013 and Jun 2014.

After parting company with the pharmacy group, one of the directors sent a fax to other pharmacies in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty areas accusing Cooper of drinking while on duty and theft.

Cooper launched defamation proceedings which were retracted, and in Nov 2017, he commenced his campaign against his former employers, sending anonymous emails to one of the group’s directors claiming her husband had a gambling issue, then sent similar emails to the other directors including a forged letter on NZ Racing letterhead saying the man was unable to operate accounts due to his gambling problem, Stuff. co.nz reported.

In Dec 2018 Cooper set up a dating profile for another director claiming he was a newly divorced gay man from Auckland, and included his mobile number.

The man received a number of messages of a sexual nature, including a photo of a penis.

The court ordered Cooper to undergo community detention with a curfew from 8pm until 4am.