Fined In Total RM38,500
The Melaka Magistrate's Court has issued a ruling leading to three individuals being fined RM38,500 in total for selling TV boxes pre-loaded with unauthorised content on 2 March 2023.
The individuals were arrested for their involvement in the sales of illegal streaming devices (ISDs) when officers from The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM)'s Cyber Crime Investigation team conducted raids at several outlets in Tesco Bandaraya Melaka on 25 October 2021, under Section 41 of the Copyright Act 1987.
Lee Hock Chuan, 20 years old, and How Jun Tian, 21 years old, werecharged under Section 41 (1) (ha) of the Copyright Act 1987 and Regulation16(1) of the Communications and Multimedia (Technical Standards) Regulations2000 whilst the company director, Ong Tuck Keong, 30 years old, was chargedunder Section 41 (1) (ha) of the Copyright Act 1987 read together with Section109 of the Penal Code, and Regulation 16(1) of the Communications andMultimedia (Technical Standards) Regulations 2000 read together with Section109 of the Code Punishment. All three pleaded guilty to all the charges andwere fined RM38,500 in total.
Lee was found in possession of nine TV boxes of which one was pre-loaded with unauthorised Astro content, while How was found in possession of 23 TV boxes of which three were pre-loaded with unauthorised Astro content.
The Copyright (Amendment) Act 2022 was gazetted on 10 February 2022.Enforcement of the law was implemented by the Domestic Trade and ConsumerAffairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) on 18 March 2022.
The key impact of the amendment is the criminalisation of the sale ofISDs and associated software applications that allow unauthorised access tocopyright content. Anyone found guilty can be fined up to RM200,000, beimprisoned up to 20 years, or both.
The amendments to the Copyright Act followed the declaration by the Intellectual Property High Court in Kuala Lumpur in May 2021 that the sale, offer for sale, distribution and/or supply of ISDs that can provide unauthorised access to copyrighted works, constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act 1987.
