THREE ARRESTED IN RAID ON CLANDESTINE FACTORY BY MALAYSIAN AUTHORITIES
MDTCC Operation Also Results In Seizure Of Two Replicating Lines
- 26Jan 2011
SINGAPORE / KUALA LUMPUR - Acting on a tip-off, 10 enforcement officers from the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives And Consumerism (MDTCC), with support from Malaysian Federation Against Copyright Theft (MFACT), representing the Motion Picture Association (MPA) in Malaysia, raided a clandestine factory on January 26 in Lukut, Negri Sembilan, a 45 minute-drive from Kuala Lumpur.
The raiding party found three men operating the production lines at the time they entered the factory premises. They seized two DVD replicating lines, one printing machine and ten 250kg bags of polycarbonates used in the manufacture of optical discs. Also seized were 50 stampers and over 500 illegal DVDs including MPA member company titles “Shrek 4”, “Inception”, “Unstoppable”, “Toy Story 3” and “Salt”. Conservatively, the lines were capable of manufacturing more than 10 million discs in a single year, generating potential illegal revenues in excess of US$27 million. All three men have been arrested and are currently in remand for further investigation.
“Today’s successful raid and seizure of unlicensed equipment is further evidence of the Ministry’s efforts in addressing source piracy in Malaysia,” said Mohd Roslan bin Mahayudin, Director-General of MDTCC’s Enforcement Department. “We are delighted with the outcome of today’s operation. This is a clear signal to the pirates that we will continue to come down hard on such activities and will not waver in our efforts to shut them down.”
“The raid and seizure today of replicating lines responsible for the production of illegal DVDs is proof that these criminals are still out there going about their business” said Mike Ellis, President and Managing Director, Asia-Pacific for the MPA. “However, we are happy with MDTCC’s steadfast resolve to root out the nefarious elements responsible for source piracy and will continue to work closely with the authorities to protect the creative community in the country and shut down more such criminal activity.”
For more information, please contact
Edward Neubronner
MPA Asia-Pacific
(65) 6253 1033
Siti Rohdiah
MPA Asia-Pacific
(65) 6253 1033
Shamsul Shafie
MFA©T Malaysia
(60-3) 2092 4015
About the MPA
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) and Motion Picture Association International (MPA-I) represent the interests of major motion picture companies in the global marketplace. To do so, it promotes and protects its member companies’ intellectual property rights and conducts public awareness programs to highlight to movie fans around the world the importance of content protection. These activities have helped to transform entire markets benefiting film industries in each country including foreign and local filmmakers alike.
The organizations’ worldwide operations are directed from its headquarters in Los Angeles, California and overseen in the Asia Pacific by a team based in Singapore. Its member companies include: Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLLP; The Walt Disney Studios; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. For more information about the MPA, please visit www.mpa-i.org.
