Hong Kong customs officers have conducted a territory-wide operation code-named "Intruder" to crack down on retail activities involving the modification of game consoles to enable customers to play pirated games on the hardware.
In raids against seven shops in Wan Chai, Sham Shui Po, Fanling and Tuen Mun, and seized 29 sets of game consoles with circumvention devices and related accessories. The seizure was worth about HKD110,000. They also arrested seven men and a woman, including three shop owners.
Hong Kong has recently introduced new provisions to the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2007 imposing criminal liabilities on people who deal in circumvention devices or provide a circumvention service for commercial purposes. The new provision has become effective since April 25, 2008.
Under the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2007, any person who makes, imports, exports circumvention device for sale or hire, deals in circumvention device, or provides a commercial circumvention service commits a criminal offense. The maximum penalty for the offense is a fine of HKD500,000 and an imprisonment for four years.