Customs arrested eight individuals in a crackdown to combat illegal activities involving party room operators providing infringing karaoke songs to customers.
During the operation between April 3 and 17, officers seized 15 sets of karaoke devices as well as a batch of audio and video equipment -- with an estimated value of about HK$430,000 -- at 15 party rooms in various districts including Central, Mong Kok, Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong, Kwai Chung and Tuen Mun.
It is reported that over 400,000 suspected infringing songs were found in the seized devices, primarily consisting Cantonese tracks, including classics from the 1970s and 1980s.
All eight arrestees, comprising four men and four women aged between 22 and 44, are the persons in charge of the party rooms and are suspected of contravening the Copyright Ordinance.
The customs noted that the addresses of these party rooms were only revealed after customers paid the fees and on the day of use, with no staff present on-site. Officers believed that this self-service operation was intended to evade investigation.
It is also stated that some party rooms involved offered video game consoles, electric mahjong tables, and board games, requiring individual fees ranging from HK$200 to HK$300, with a minimum total spending of HK$800.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities do not rule out the possibility of further arrests.
Under the Copyright Ordinance, anyone possessing infringing copies of copyrighted works for trade or business purposes without permission can face fines of up to HK$50,000 and a maximum of four years imprisonment for each infringing copy.
(Phoebe Poon)
