Fifteen arrested for selling pirated cassettes
JAKARTA (JP): Fifteen people, including six women, have been arrested for allegedly pirating and selling thousands of best- selling local and foreign songs.
Head of National Police Crime Investigation Directorate Brig. Gen. Rusdihardjo said yesterday that a total of 6,000 master cassettes, 54 recording sets and two personal computers were also confiscated during the midday raid on Monday at two different places in East Jakarta.
Police also seized 205 new cassettes containing pirated songs, 1,500 blank cassettes and Rp 205,000 (US$90) in cash at the two locations.
The suspects along with the instruments were found at Toko Irama Tiara in Jatiraya and at a house on Jl. Kebun Mawar in Taman Buaran Indah housing complex.
It is believed the syndicate has operated for several years and has produced thousands of cassettes containing selective songs illegally recorded.
Most of the pirated cassettes contained best-selling local and foreign songs by Dewi Yull, Nia Daniati, Nicky Astria, KLA Project, Air Supply, Oasis, Peabo Bryson, Maribeth, Roxette, Celine Dion, Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey and Michael Bolton.
Counterfeited cassettes of popular Indonesian songs were sold at Rp 12,000 while those of best-selling western songs at Rp 15,000. The original/legal price is Rp 10,000.
The pirated products were more expensive because the songs were carefully selected.
"Consumers could even order the titles of songs they wanted on a cassette," Rusdihardjo said.
Dimas Wahab of the Indonesian Association of Recording Industries said, "Some of the pirated songs are better recorded. The pirates allegedly use imported high-class instruments."
The suspects, charged of violating article 44 of the 1987 Law on Copyrights, if found guilty face a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a fine of Rp 100 million ($44,000).
Chandra Darusman, noted music arranger, hopes the suspects will be brought to court.
"If the authorities fail to bring them to court and punish them with the proper penalty, no doubt they will repeat the offense someday," he said.
Two weeks ago, the National Police Headquarters seized thousands of counterfeit diskettes and CD-ROMs and arrested five suspects during a raid on four computer shops in downtown Glodok district in West Jakarta.
Some of the pirated software included copies of MS Windows 95, Microsoft Encarta 95, Software Xpress and Microsoft Office, all of which sold for less than half the original prices and were usually poorly packaged.
Rusdihardjo said yesterday that Indonesian police have vowed to strengthen intellectual property rights protection.
"Copyright violations can hamper our country's image," he added.
Last April, after securing a pledge of cooperation from China, then viewed as one of the world's largest copyright violators, Washington indicated that it was targeting Indonesia in its next campaign to ensure greater intellectual property rights protection for American software products. (bsr)