100,000 pirated VCDs, CDs and DVDs seized

JAKARTA (JP): City police seized more than 100,000 pirated video compact discs, audio compact discs and digital video discs from three audio cassette shops in Mangga Dua shopping center, Central Jakarta, on Saturday, an official said.

Chief of the city police detectives unit Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo said on Monday the pirated discs were estimated to have a street value of about Rp 2 billion.

The VCDs, for example, were selling for Rp 10,000 a piece at the shops, far below the Rp 25,000 retail price for originals.

Alex said that after the confiscation of the pirated products, three people believed to be the owners of the shops were arrested.

The three suspects, identified as DP alias Joko, 29, a resident of Grogol; BD alias Budi, 31, a resident of Pejagalan, and BP alias Ayung, 27, a resident of Tambora, were caught in separate raids.

During preliminary questioning, the three admitted that they started selling the illegal merchandise not more than two months ago, Alex said.

"But their confessions can develop and can also change. We doubt their confessions," he said.

Police have yet to determine whether the shop owners were merely selling the pirated discs or also replicating the discs themselves.

Alex said that so far his detectives had not found any recording equipment in the three shops.

Joko told reporters that he bought his merchandise from a salesman who came from Batam. He declined to identify the salesman, urging the police to find him themselves instead of prying information out of him.

"If I disclose the salesman's name, the police will not work," he said.

Most of the seized recordings consisted of Chinese songs, Chinese films, pornographic movies, various games and new albums, including one by Female Fantastics.

The suspects could be charged under Article 44 of Law No. 12/1997 on intellectual property rights, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail and/or a Rp 100 million fine. They could also be charged under Law No. 8/1992 on motion pictures.

According to Alex, the three were among dozens and perhaps hundreds of people involved in the piracy of such products.

"We all know that pirated discs and cassettes are sold along the streets and the sellers must know that their merchandise is illegal," Alex said.

A.H. Bimo Suryono of the Recording Industry Association (ASIRI) said police and law enforcers should take stern measures against those who violate intellectual property rights because they not only inflict material losses on copy right owners, but also on governments as well as the general public.

He said no one would be able to put an end to the illegal distribution of pirated merchandise because members the public were ignorant of qualified goods and were only concerned about obtaining new items at cheap prices.

"I believe that such a (illegal) business will never disappear, but we keep on making routine checks. I'd be thankful to the police if those arrested were given the heaviest punishment possible," Bimo told The Jakarta Post.

From a series of arrests and seizures this year alone, ASIRI estimated by the volume of merchandise involved that the association suffered at least Rp 1.5 billion in losses, Bimo said.

Those involved in the business can rake in huge profits by selling discs well below the standard market price without paying any taxes or copy right fees.

According to Bimo, piracy in the country also involves international syndicates, with many such products being widely available in other countries.

He said even though digital video discs could be pirated here, people could also buy the duplicated products from other countries due to the close links between local businesspeople and their overseas partners.

The association plans to meet National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi on Tuesday to present its findings in piracy and to seek more support for better coordination between the association and law enforcers in upholding existing laws.

"We keep learning how piracy practices develop from time to time and we'll give our findings to the police," he said. (emf)