50,000 VCDs confiscated

BOGOR: The police confiscated about 50,000 pirated VCDs, including pornographic movies, from 15 shops in a raid at Plaza Jambu Dua.

The raid was conducted from noon to 2 p.m. by dozens of police officers from the Bogor Police in cooperation with several executives of the Association of Intellectual Property Rights.

Adj. Comr. Taryadi, who led the operation, said that the raid was prompted by the association, who urged immediate action.

He added that it was also based on the Copyright Law, which states that violators could be sentenced to five years in jail and/or fined Rp 100,000.

None of the vendors, however, were arrested.

Pirated VCDs can easily be found in Greater Jakarta as well as many other parts of the city.

Anton, 28, one of the vendors in Plaza Jambu Dua, said that the police seized 10,000 VCDs from his shop.

Anton, who bought the VCDs from Jakarta, said that he preferred to sell pirated copies because they were cheaper and sold better. --JP