Seven arrested in karaoke infringement bust

Customs officers on Friday said they had arrested seven people in a territory-wide crackdown on party rooms and bars providing karaoke systems pre-loaded with copyright-infringing songs. The five men and two women apprehended, aged between 26 and 69, were arrested on suspicion of violating the Copyright Ordinance and have been released on bail. They include sellers of the karaoke systems, party room managers and staff. Officers also confiscated equipment with an estimated market value of HK$500,000 after raiding 14 party rooms, one bar and two apartments during the month-long operation, which concluded on Wednesday. The seizure included 28 sets of karaoke players, four gaming consoles with suspected pirated video games, and a batch of televisions and audio-visual equipment. “We identified two new criminal trends through this operation," said Ng Ka-chun, a divisional commander who oversees the Intellectual Property Technology Crime Investigation Division. "First, one seller claimed to be an authorised representative of a karaoke player brand on social media, offering on-site installation and maintenance as a promotion. “Another seller juggled several roles. Aside from selling infringing karaoke players via social media, he also operated a party room and a bar in Central, providing pirated songs for his customers,” he added. Ng added that the party rooms concerned operated on a self-service basis without on-site staff, and only provided the exact address and door passcode after payment was made, making the investigation more difficult. Edited by Tony Sabine