MALAYSIAN POLICE ARREST MAN FOR OPERATING ILLEGAL MOVIE

MALAYSIAN POLICE ARREST MAN FOR OPERATING ILLEGAL MOVIE LINKING SITE SYOK.ORG KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE:

 On March 6, police officers from the Cyber Crime Unit of the Commercial Crime Division of the Royal Malaysian Police arrested a 27-year-old man from Kulim, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia, for sharing links to illegal copies of copyrighted movies via the website SYOK.org. According to police reports, the suspect is believed to be the operator of the website SYOK.org, which illegally hosted links to titles belonging to MPAA Member Studios including copies of Sky Fall, Life of Pi, Jack Reacher and Argo, among others. Following the arrest, Norman Abdul Halim, Honorary Secretary of the Malaysian Film Producers’ Association, said, “I would like to congratulate the Royal Malaysian Police for taking this important action. The operation was a major victory for filmmakers and movie audiences. I know that many colleagues throughout the screen community will be pleased with this outcome, as it represents an important step to further protecting their creative work from being shared online without their permission. This successful action puts other websites on due notice that the authorities will take every measure to investigate and prosecute those involved with the illegal uploading and sharing of films and television shows.” Mike Ellis, President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific, for the Motion Picture Association (MPA), said, “We commend the efforts of the Cyber Crime Unit for their effective operation. Rogue websites present a major threat to the ability of filmmakers to conduct a sustainable film business, employ people in production, distribution and exhibition, and deliver quality films and television shows to audiences. This action by the Royal Malaysian Police sends a clear message to operators of such websites and we look forward to working with them to crackdown on more such cases.” If convicted under the Copyright Act, the operator faces fines ranging from 2,000 – 20,000 ringgit (USD650 – 6,500) for each infringing copy, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both and for any subsequent offence, to a fine of 4,000 – 40,000 ringgit (USD1,300 – 13,000) for each infringing copy or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both.
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About the MPA:


Promoting & Protecting Screen Communities in Asia Pacific
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the Motion Picture Association International (MPA-I) represent the interests of the six international producers and distributors of filmed entertainment. To do so, they promote and protect the intellectual property rights of these companies and conduct 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 and television industries in each country including foreign and local filmmakers alike.
The organizations act on behalf of the members of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc (MPAA) which include; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios LLC; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. The MPA and the MPA-I have worldwide operations which are directed from their head offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and overseen in the Asia Pacific by a team based in Singapore. For more information about the MPA and the MPA-I, please visit www.mpa-i.org
For more information, please contact
Stephen Jenner


MPA Asia-Pacific (65) 6253 1033
Margaret Fu MPA Asia-Pacific (852) 2785 8677