SINGAPORE: The owner of a company that sold illegal streaming devices at Sim Lim Square was jailed for six months on Friday (May 30).
Wang Yue’s company, Ace Technologies, was also fined S$181,000 (US$140,000). The business operated four shop units in Sim Lim Square from 2018 to 2022.
Earlier, Wang and Ace Technologies each pleaded guilty to 17 counts under the Copyright Act, with 33 more charges taken into consideration for sentencing.
Illegal streaming devices are installed with programmes that facilitate unauthorised access to live television channels and video-on-demand content.
Wang, 36, was the one who decided to sell pirate set-top boxes through Ace Technologies, which had nine employees.
In early 2018, the business started selling such devices for between S$149 and S$249. The profit margin for each device was about S$39 to S$99.
According to Wang, the company earned a monthly profit of about S$15,000 to S$18,000 from selling illegal streaming devices.
The devices could access English Premier League football matches, the Discovery Channel and Disney and Warner Bros movies.
Shop staff would tell customers that the devices allowed them to watch copyrighted shows without incurring the costs of watching them through legitimate sources.
Wang, a Chinese national, procured the pirate set-top boxes from an overseas supplier and was the sole person responsible for doing so.
In 2020, the Premier League sent letters to Ace Technologies and Wang warning them to stop selling the devices over copyright infringements. However, they persisted.
On Oct 4, 2022, police conducted a raid on shops at Sim Lim Square, including Ace Technologies.
More than 1,000 illegal streaming devices were seized from Ace Technologies’ shops and storage unit in the mall. Wang and his company were then hauled to court.
This is the second such case to come before the courts. The first prosecution for copyright infringement by a commercial dealer of illegal streaming devices took place last October.
In that case, Ge Xin was jailed for 10 months and his two companies, MT Gadget+ and Grandnew, were fined a total of S$300,000 for selling illegal streaming devices.
Amendments to the Copyright Act came into force in November 2021, making it illegal to sell pirate set-top boxes.
Under the Copyright Act, an individual who makes, deals, imports, distributes or offers devices or services to access works without the authority of copyright owners can be jailed up to five years, fined up to S$100,000 or both.
A company can be fined up to S$200,000 for such copyright infringement.
