KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 7): A business owner and his salesman were fined a total RM40,000 with selling TV boxes pre-loaded with unauthorised content and without SIRIM certification.

They were charged with the offences at the cyber division of the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Aug 4, 2023 and paid the fine after pleading guilty, according to a statement by Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd.

The pair, 42-year-old Yap Kim Fatt and his employee 29-year-old Chu Kar Wai, were charged under Section 43AA (1) of the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2022 following a raid by the police's Commercial Crime Investigation Department on Yap's kiosk at Kompleks Emart here on June 21, 2022.

They were also charged with violating Regulation 16(1)(b) of the Communications and Multimedia (Technical Standards) Regulations 2000, with penalties including a jail term of up to six years, a fine of up to RM100,000, or both, if convicted.

Yap and Chu were each fined RM15,000 under the Copyright (Amendment) Act 2022 and another RM5,000 under the Communications and Multimedia Regulations 2000, resulting in the total fine of RM40,000.

The case was led by deputy public prosecutor Nurilya Ellyna Nor Azmal.

They were initially granted bail of RM15,000 after pleading not guilty to their charges at the hearing on April 5, 2023.

"The Copyright (Amendment) Act 2022 was gazetted on Feb 10, 2022. Enforcement of the law was implemented by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) on March 18, 2022. The key impact of the amendment is the criminalisation of the sale of ISDs and associated software applications that allow unauthorised access to copyright content. Anyone found guilty can be fined a minimum of RM10,000 to a maximum of RM200,000 or be imprisoned up to 20 years, or both," said Astro.

At the noon break, the counter rose half a sen or 0.98% to 51.5 sen, for a market capitalisation of RM2.69 billion.

Read also
Salesperson fined for selling TV boxes preloaded with unauthorised content — Astro