According to PC World this morning, a couple of shady American entrepreneurs -allegedly using EBay to peddle pirated warez, have been given some free room and board at the crossbar hotel in China. The media over there is saying the two were sent to a jail in Shanghai to contemplate their recent business decisions.
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Police had estimated the group had sold 180,000 DVDs worth roughly $845,000 between November 2003 and July 2004, the report said. However, the judge who presided over the case at the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court said evidence presented by police showed the group had sold 133,000 pirated DVDs worth around $398,000 to customers in more than 20 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Australia, it says. Based on the evidence presented, the group's profit from these sales was found to be almost $120,000, it says. |
Guthrie and Thrush will also get a free ticket back to their homeland once they finish their sentences, as they are going to be deported by Chinese authorities. Guthrie was handed a 30 month sentence and a fine of $60,000, he was considered the brains of the gang. Thrush and the two Chinese accomplices, Wu Dong and Wu Shibiao, were given lighter sentences of up to 10 months and fined between $1200 and $3600.
China has always been a haven for finding pirated goods like this, but I suppose it is understandable in their economy where workers are paid very little. However, it is now apparent that the authorities are cracking down on the situation, you can read the story from PC World to learn more about the climate for piracy in China.
Source: PC World
