A man was sentenced to 18 weeks' imprisonment at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (July 25) for selling and possession of infringing optical discs for sale purpose, in contravention of the Copyright Ordinance (CPO).

     Hong Kong Customs conducted an anti-piracy operation in Mong Kok and raided a shop which sold infringing optical discs on May 10, 2018. During the operation, a 55-year-old salesman was arrested and about 4,000 infringing optical discs were seized at scene. The arrested person later absconded while he was on bail pending further investigation. Customs then applied for a Warrant in the First Instance from court. He was intercepted by the Police yesterday (July 24) and was subsequently charged by the Customs under the CPO. The case was brought up to the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts for plea this morning.
      
     Hong Kong Customs welcomes the sentence, saying that the custodial sentence imposes a considerable deterrent effect and delivers a clear warning to the selling and possession of infringing goods for trade purpose. It also reflects the offence's seriousness.

     Under the CPO, any person who sells or possesses for sale any infringing goods commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $50,000 per infringing copy and imprisonment for four years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected infringing activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

Ends/Saturday, July 25, 2020
Issued at HKT 18:25

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