Man arrested for selling tsunami VCDs

Man arrested for selling tsunami VCDs

THAILAND: Police in the tsunami-devastated Thai resort town of Phuket arrested a man on Thursday for selling video compact disks (VCDs) of the disaster.

The killer waves on Dec. 26 killed about 5,300 people in Thailand, and left another 3,600 people missing. Survivors of the disaster have been enraged by reports that sidewalk vendors have been peddling VCDs of the tsunami for about 100 baht (US$2.58) each.

In response, police have ordered a crackdown on vendors selling the VCDs.

"We detained one man for distributing the tsunami video and charged him with distribution of an illegally produced feature," said police Col. Theeraphol Thipchareon in Phuket.

Much or all of the footage of the disaster on the VCDs is copied from material broadcast on television. -- AP