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Ravina Shamdasani

Judge says tougher jail terms reflect the serious damage done to Hong Kong's entertainment industry

Three people convicted of pirating entertainment software had their jail time extended by 25 per cent yesterday.

Saying they had destroyed Hong Kong's good image, Deputy District Court Judge Joseph Yau Chi-lap applied the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance for the first time in a piracy case to increase their sentences.

Widow Wong King-fa, 52,  and her youngest son, Chong Chun-sang, 26,  have been jailed for 55 months and 371/2 months for operating a pirated CD factory in their luxury house in Ting Kau.

A mainlander, Huang Jinhua, 21, who had absconded but was found guilty in absentia, was sentenced to 33 months in jail.

Prosecutor Petrus Chan Kam-chuen   applied for an enhanced sentence on August 7,  when the defendants were convicted of the piracy charges.

The court heard that the offences were committed from 2000 to 2004. Customs and Excise Department officers raided Wong's house in Royal Dragon Villa, Ting Kau,  eight CD retail outlets and three warehouses on July 7, 2004.

Apart from the Royal Dragon Villa, Wong also owned two shops and rented the other premises for the operation.  More than 50,000 pirated CDs were seized, along with computer software, computer games, video CDs and music CDs.

The three defendants were convicted on 10 charges of conspiracy to manufacture and possess infringed copies of copyright works for sale, and forging trademarks.

Wong was also convicted of money-laundering involving HK$27.4 million, the proceeds of  piracy she accrued over the four-year operation.

In sentencing, Judge Yau said the defendants had provided 'a chain of services', including manufacturing, packaging, distributing and selling the pirated copies.

Noting that the nature of the offence was very serious, he also said their conduct was severely damaging to the development of science, literature, music and arts, given the wide range  of their activities.

'Their behaviour  hindered the development of [art and culture], and they ruthlessly destroyed the good image of Hong Kong,' the judge said. 'Our city has tried very hard to combat piracy and a lot of resources and effort has been paid for that. It is very important to educate our young generation to respect copyrighted works.'

But the infringers had encouraged the public to consume pirated copies, especially luring young people because they had relatively lower incomes.

Wong and her son pleaded not guilty and the court heard that a background report revealed she still denied her responsibility for the offences. She had also claimed that  she had made millions of dollars a year from trading in foreign currency, not from the piracy business.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild honorary president Joe Cheung Tung-joe  said he could not say whether the enhanced sentence was particularly low or high because he was not a lawyer, but it would certainly send a message to the community that piracy was a serious offence.

'Many people think that doing this kind of thing is not a very serious matter,' Mr Cheung said. 'Technology has made it so easy - it is almost like using a photocopier to copy documents. But it is important for the courts to send this kind of a message, saying that producing pirated CDs is illegal.'

Mr Cheung said Wong and Chong would have had an easy time making HK$27 million from their work but the damage to the film industry was incalculable.

'It is so easy to copy discs and even easier to upload and download films to the internet - we have seen our international sales plummet because of these threats,' he said.



Software pirates get extended sentences