Saturday, November 16, 2013

Popular website operators arrested

PUTRAJAYA - A manufacturer of a popular website to download and upload music illegally profiting hundreds of thousands of dollars since 1997 , was arrested by law enforcement teams Ministry of Domestic Trade , Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (Ministry) in Manitoba .

The ministry's enforcement director Mohd Roslan eds Enforcement said the 35-year -old man was arrested after authorities raided his home team in Kubang Kerian on June 11 .

" The website that offers download and upload Malay songs profits reach hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising service and contributions of those who are members of JWG website .

" The man was admitted once earns a handsome income of almost RM10 , 000 per month in 2006 , but revenue declined to RM1, 500 a month now after emerging competitors using the same modus operandi JWG , " he said at a press conference here today.

Also present were Chief of Strategic Communications Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC ) Sheikh Raffie Abd Rahman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia (RIM ) chairman Tan Ngiap Foo .

Roslan said the enforcement team also seized ICT equipment worth RM30 , 000 and the case was being investigated under Section 41 of the Copyright Act 1987 which carries a fine of RM2 , 000 and RM20 , 000 or five years' jail or both upon conviction .

He said that the Enforcement Division will issue a notice of barriers to prevent access to the Commission 's website JWG as allocated under Section 263 ( 2 ) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 .

The man was released on police bail .

Meanwhile, Tan said the music industry suffered losses of about RM10 million in the next five years following website offering upload and download song in the country.

"I am grateful to the Ministry of such raids . RIM will take legal action against the website operators JWG to recover damages incurred in the music industry, " he said.

He also said that RIM has identified websites that offer similar services to consumers not only in Malaysia but also Indonesia and Brunei .

In a related development , Roslan said the ministry is investigating at least 32 websites that offer downloads and upload free music and movies illegally in this country .

He said a total of 30 complaints were received on the website are categorized as ' cyber sharks ' contributing to copyright infringement.

" Initial investigations found that this website operates within and outside the country . We will work with the Royal Malaysian Police , the Commission and the copyright owner to track and disable cyber shark that action could be taken against them , " he said.

Roslan also reminded all government agencies through Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit ( CAN ) and Force Computer Emergency Response Commission ( MyCert ) to take precautions cyber attacks on government websites after websites blocked access JWG .

" This is based on the experience in 2011 , which saw a number of government websites hacked after 10 website in violation of the Copyright Act 1987 restricted access , " he said. - Bernama

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