PETALING JAYA: A man was charged and fined by the KL Sessions Court today (June 16) for selling pre-loaded TV boxes with unauthorised Astro content.
Tiew Ai Teng, 38 was fined RM20,000 or two months imprisonment under Section 43AA of the Copyright Act 1987.
He pleaded guilty to the charge and paid the fine. Tiew committed the offence on June 29,2022 at an outlet in EkoCheras Mall, Kuala Lumpur after he was found to be in possession of five Android TV Boxes preloaded with unauthorised content.
Similarly, on April 3, a 22-year-old student was fined by the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court for possession of an unauthorised link to a popular local TV drama series on his devices.
On April 5, two individuals were charged at the KL Sessions Court for selling TV boxes with unauthorised Astro content.
Meanwhile on April 13, two individuals were fined RM14,000 in total by the Kluang Magistrate’s Court for selling TV boxes pre-loaded with unauthorised Astro content.
The Copyright (Amendment) Act 2022 was gazetted on February 10, 2022. Enforcement of the law was implemented by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living on March 18.
The key impact of the amendment is the criminalisation of the sale of illicit streaming devices (ISDs) and associated software applications that allow unauthorised access to copyright content.
If found guilty, one can be fined a minimum of RM10,000 to a maximum of RM200,000 or be imprisoned up to 20 years, or both.
Hence, the public is reminded to channel information of piracy activities to the ministry through its hotline, 1- 800-886-800 or 03-8882 6088 at the Enforcement Command Centre, WhatsApp at 019-279 4317, email to e-aduan@kpdnhep.gov.my or via Ez ADU app.
