8 arrested for selling illegal game consoles

Hong Kong Customs officers have arrested eight people for selling modified game consoles which allow customers to play pirated games. They seized 29 consoles with circumvention devices and accessories, worth about $110,000.

The officers raided seven shops in Wan Chai, Sham Shui Po, Fanling and Tuen Mun yesterday, and arrested a woman and seven men aged 19 to 46, including three shop owners.

The Government has introduced new provisions to the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2007, imposing criminal liabilities on people who deal in circumvention devices or provide a circumvention service for commercial purposes. The new provision became effective on April 25.

Under the ordinance, anyone who makes, imports or exports circumvention devices for sale or hire, deals in circumvention devices, or provides a commercial circumvention service commits a criminal offence. The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of $500,000 and four years in prison.