Henk Krol, leader of the 50Plus political party, has been fined €750 for hacking into a medical information system while a provincial councillor in April 2012.

Krol was tipped off about a leak in the system used to store medical files by Brabant-based laboratory Diagnostiek voor U. Krol said he wanted to show how lax security on the site was because it was in the public interest.

The judge said he sympathised with Krol’s aims but he should not have been so quick to go public with his findings.

Krol’s party is currently riding high in the polls.