Hong Kong customs has arrested seven people in a citywide crackdown on party rooms offering suspected illegal karaoke sets with songs that infringed copyright.
The operation, code-named Magpie, took place between March 16 and April 15 and involved more than 100 officers, who raided 14 party rooms, a bar and the residences of two online sellers.
Ng Ka-chun, divisional commander of customs’ intellectual property technology crime investigation, said on Friday that authorities seized 28 suspected illegal karaoke sets and four gaming consoles with an estimated market value of HK$500,000 (US$63,900) in the crackdown.
Five men and two women, aged between 26 and 69, were arrested.
“We have eradicated, for the time, a syndicate which infringed copyright and that spanned across different industries such as online shopping, the catering industry and entertainment venues,” Ng said.
Authorities found that offenders had pre-loaded the karaoke devices with popular local hits, including songs released this year, to attract customers, he added.
“Hong Kong customs reiterates that we will continue to closely monitor the market situation, utilise big data systems to conduct patrols and analyses, maintain close contact with copyright owners, and continue to combat all types of infringement activities involving different businesses and industries,” Ng warned.
