Four arrested with 200,000 pirated VCDs

JAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested four men for their alleged role in the distribution of about 200,000 pirated video compact discs (VCDs) in the city.

The chief of Jakarta Police Detectives, Col. Gories Mere, said yesterday the pirated discs were confiscated during a raid Saturday evening of nine stores and two warehouses at the city's largest electronics shopping center in Glodok, West Jakarta.

It was the largest police haul of pirated discs this year and four trucks were needed to transport the 200,000 confiscated discs.

"Calculating the value-added taxes alone, the seized discs are worth at least Rp 600 million (US$175,180)," Gories said.

The pirated discs are sold here for Rp 15,000 each, compared to Rp 35,000 for an original copy.

The officer identified the four suspects as Jhony Wiraputra, 37, Andri Gunawan, 29, Ng Se Hiang, 34, and Henky, 37. The stores and warehouses allegedly belonged to them.

Police are still unsure whether the suspects allegedly replicated the discs themselves.

No recording machines were confiscated from the suspects, Gories said.

"They will probably be charged under several regulations, including Article 44 of 1997 Law No. 12 on intellectual property rights and 1992 Law No. 8 on motion pictures," he said.

The 1997 law stipulates a maximum penalty of seven years in jail and/or Rp 100 million fine for those found guilty of counterfeiting a product.

It also stipulates a maximum five years imprisonment and/or Rp 50 million fine for selling pirated goods.

A police source said that one of the suspects, Jhony, had allegedly been arrested twice for similar crimes.

"He owns some stores which are managed by his relatives," an officer, who refused to be named, said.

The pirated discs were allegedly sent to Jhony from a recording company somewhere in Tangerang, he said.

The pirated discs included the latest Hollywood releases such as George Clooney's The Peacemaker and Charlie Sheen's Under Pressure, and records from international artists like Barbara Streisand and Bon Jovi and local artists, such as Susan -- the Talking Doll.

The suspects were also allegedly distributing a counterfeit version of Elton John's Candle in the Wind.

According to the chairman of the Indonesian Recording Industry Association (ASIRI), Dimas Wahab, some 40 percent of the confiscated VCDs were pornographic movies.

"Most of them were possibly copied in foreign countries."

The alleged distribution of pirated goods by the four suspects had caused financial losses for the artists, producers and recording companies, Dimas said.

"They have taken advantage (of the system) and got a lot of money by selling the pirated copies below the standard market prices.

"We can't sell the VCDs for less than Rp 30,000 because we have to cover expenses, including production costs, artist fees and the Rp 3,000 value-added tax for each copy," he said.

He was unable to estimate the losses suffered by members of the association.

"I don't know the exact figure. But I tell you, we pay around Rp 50 billion per year only in value-added tax to the government. You can figure out the loss for yourself," he said.

A member of ASIRI, who did not want to be identified, said at least 10 people in Java were illegally copying the discs in disguised factories.

"There is one in Central Java, two in East Java and seven in Greater Jakarta. We know they have the machines to record the songs and movies to and from the discs. It costs only $1 to make one fake disc. Imagine how much money they have made," he said.

"I think the police already know some of them. But it depends on the police whether they really want to eradicate this pirating business or not." (cst)