Customs raided 21 party rooms over suspected pirated Karaoke songs

Customs raided 21 party rooms across Hong Kong in a crackdown on venues allegedly providing copyrighted karaoke songs without authorisation.

Five people have been arrested.

Using a big-data analysis system, customs deployed more than 100 officers to launch raids across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories from late July to early September.

They seized 21 playback devices preloaded with suspected pirated karaoke songs, as well as a gaming console containing suspected pirated video games with the haul worth around 600,000 dollars.

Three men and two women, aged between 28 and 44, including venue operators and employees, were arrested on suspicion of violating the Copyright Ordinance.

The party rooms allegedly operated in a highly discreet manner.

Most were run on a self-service basis, with operators posting prices and only a general location on social media.

Customers would receive the exact address and door code only after making payment on the day of the booking.