| Computer offense nets youth a year's probation
Computer offense nets youth a year's probation
Jonathan Cheng
Thursday, January 18, 2007
A 17-year-old boy has become the second person to be sentenced by a Hong Kong court for uploading copyrighted works on the Internet.
Partly because of his youth, Secondary Five student Chan Wai-kei - who was convicted earlier this month of distributing nearly 80 files online - was spared a prison sentence.
But in an unexpected twist during his hearing Wednesday, Chan was also convicted of stealing a package of sushi from a Kwun Tong supermarket last Thursday - an act he attributed to pressure from his recent conviction.
Chan, who was accompanied in court by family members, did not speak to the media, and showed no emotion as his mother cried. He was given 12 months probation for distributing the copyrighted material, and a HK$1,000 fine for shop theft.
"You may know a great deal about computers," Kwun Tong Principal Magistrate Michael Jenkins told Chan Wednesday, "but you know very little about the law."
Ricky Fung Tim-chee, Hong Kong's top record industry official, said after the hearing that he hoped the conviction would send a strong message to teenagers and "those who want to take their chances on the Internet."
Fung, chief executive of the local branch of the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry, which represents local subsidiaries of global companies like Sony BMG, Universal and Warner Music, said: "This time he came away without jail time, but the next time around, I would not be surprised if there were a prison sentence."
Fung would not comment on whether Chan's probation order was a stiff enough penalty, saying only that he "respected the judgment."
He said: "The most important thing is that the judge found him guilty.
"He has a responsibility, and there is a price to pay."
Chan's case closely follows that of a failed appeal by 38-year-old Chan Nai-ming, who earned the world's first criminal conviction for uploading copyrighted material online.
Chan Nai-ming, known online as "Big Crook," lost an appeal last month and is currently serving a three-month prison sentence for uploading three Hollywood movies online.
He has stated his intention to appeal his case to the Court of Final Appeal, the territory's highest court. During the hearing Wednesday, Jenkins acknowledged that 17-year-old Chan had not uploaded the files for commercial reasons.
But he rejected an argument from Chan's lawyer, Yip Chi-hong, that the uploading caused no prejudice to the copyright holders.
Yip argued that Chan had never advertised online to draw users to his Web site.
"Anything regarding the Copyright Ordinance has got to be taken quite seriously," Jenkins said, noting that artists and producers "spend a great deal of time and expense creating the works."
The principal magistrate said: "Doing what you do, whether for commercial reasons or not, causes them prejudice."
Jenkins, however, said he was handing down a probation order because of Chan's youth and his clean record at the time of conviction.
All told, Chan admitted distributing 71 audio files, four video files and two pieces of software online. He was convicted of violating the Copyright Ordinance on January 4.
Exactly a week later, he was caught stealing a packet of sushi worth HK$39.80 from a Wellcome supermarket, near his home in Kwun Tong.
Yip said he was "quite surprised" by Chan's act of theft, acknowledging his client had "no excuse" for the act.
"He was under great psychological pressure," Yip said. "Partly out of a desire to relieve that pressure, he stole the sushi in question."
Yip called the act "out of character," and said Chan had acknowledged it was "not a sensible act."
Jenkins agreed.
"I'm puzzled, to say the least, that with the great pressure you claim to be under, you would put yourself under more pressure by stealing from this supermarket," he said.
The HK$1,000 fine, Jenkins noted, was the usual penalty for first-time shop thieves.
Chan was arrested last May after a police raid on his apartment in Kwun Tong. The police were following up a tip from the local branch of the IFPI.
Chan had rigged up his computer so it could operate as a central server, capable of allowing anyone with Internet access to upload files to and download files from his Web site.  | 
