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SHAH ALAM: A 46-year-old mother of three became the first person to be punished in Malaysia for using media boxes containing apps that can illegally obtain entertainment content.
Ng Lee Lee was fined RM30,000 after pleading guilty in the Court of Sessions in front of Judge Muhamad Anas Mahadzir to the charges under the Communications and Multimedia Act.
Ng, who is the director of a company called Little Yap Resources, was caught with six media boxes containing the MyTV.apk application at a location in Taman Putra Prima, Sepang, in a raid on December 12 last year.
Following the inspection of the boxes at the Multimedia and Cybercrime Investigation Unit in Bukit Aman on December 19 and 20, a representative from Measat Broadcast Network System Sdn Bhd confirmed that the six media boxes can broadcast content from various channels owned by Astro from Measat Broadcast Network System. without having to pay subscription.
DPP Syazwani Zawawi asked the court to impose a fine of RM30,000 for each of the six offenses, given that the maximum penalty under the charges was RM300,000 and three years in prison.
“This case is the first of its kind and it is necessary to establish a benchmark on the sanction imposed.
“It should also be noted that it is in the public interest, such as paying customers, as well as the licensee and rights to the content,” he said.
Muhammad Anas then asked Syazwani to explain how the case was in the public interest and how it affected the public.
Syazwani said 4.7 million people were paying to subscribe to Astro, while the media box, which sells for between RM300 and RM400, provides the same content for free.
“It also impacts the economy since taxes are paid to the government, but when it is not legal and free, there is a loss of that (taxes),” he added.
However, Muhammad Anas did not agree with the DPP’s argument that the case involved public interest.
“Astro is not the public, and Astro has every right to take personal action against her (Ng),” he said.
Ng’s defense attorney, Low Li Qun, asked the court to impose a fine of RM 1,000 for each count, saying that his client also supported his elderly parents and in-laws, as well as their three children.
In making his statement, Ng said that authorities had seized 55 media boxes from his premises, but that only six had the MyTV.apk app.
“Normally we only sell empty hardware, but that day, the customer asked us to do this (install the application on the media boxes),” he said.
Ng added that he knew he had committed the crime and said he had to earn a living as his business had fallen by 80% due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also apologized to court and promised not to repeat the crime.
In passing his judgment, Muhamad Anas said that the crime committed by Ng was frequent and was a form of piracy for easy profit from the hard work of others.
He said it was a very serious crime, although it might seem otherwise.
“I think the gearbox is a one-time purchase, and if you want to upgrade, you do it about once a year.
“All content and channels are free, so it is piracy,” Muhammad Anas said.
Koh Shueh Jing of the law firm Wong & Partners made an observation report for Measat Broadcast Network System.
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