Twelve arrested over pirated software

Eleven company bosses were arrested after computers at their firms were found using pirated software, a senior customs official said on Monday.

During a recent two-month operation, officers seized 35 computers suspected of using such software, including operating systems, office applications and design software.

Those arrested were 11 directors and a partner from seven companies, who are between 28 and 58 years old.

Michael Kwan Yuk-kwan, head of the customs intellectual property investigation team, said most of the companies were newly opened, small or medium-sized firms.

“They probably wanted to save costs by using pirate software,” Kwan said.

There has been a slight increase recently in cases of commercial premises using pirated software, he said.