Sentencing delayed for E-bay disc pirate
The mastermind behind a copyright syndicate that sold pirated discs to overseas buyers through the E-bay internet auction site will be sentenced on April 16.
In the first successful conviction for copyright infringement under the Organised and Serious Crime Ordinance, Yung Chun-pong was earlier found guilty in the District Court of four counts of attempting to export pirated discs and possessing pirated copyright works for trade. .
Prosecutor Petrus Chan told the court yesterday that since Yung, 35, would not have been able to operate alone, the case should be considered organised crime.
He said Yung had to rely on four other people - who were acquitted at trial - to commit the crime.
But defence barrister Joseph Tse told the court that since the other four people had not been directly involved in the crime, and had no idea the discs had been pirated, there was no basis for the sentence to reflect grounds for organised crime.
The court also heard that Yung had gained a bachelor's degree in engineering and computer science in Britain.
He had returned to Hong Kong, setting up companies in 2000 that sold MP3s.
Mr Tse told the court Yung was a businessman and was not solely involved in the sale of pirated discs. Furthermore, Yung's wife had just become pregnant, and they were expecting their second child.
The court heard that on January 25, 2005, customs officers had mounted an operation in Kwun Tong, targeting people using E-bay to sell pirated discs.
The officers seized 46,742 pirated discs worth US$18,698 in a raid on two flats. Yung was among a group of men who were intercepted by officials while transporting four stacks of discs on a trolley.
