Shopkeeper jailed for having 8,000 fake cell phones
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Feb 11, 2011 - Straits Times
By Khushwant Singh
RAIDS on a business in Sim Lim Square in August and December 2009 uncovered 7,942 fakes that included Apple, Nokia and Sony Ericsson cell phones.
In a district court on Friday, Li Chuhan, 31, a Chinese national and a permanent resident here, pleaded guilty to copyright and trademark infringements and was jailed for a year and nine months.
Investigations revealed that Li started selling MP3 and MP4 players from a kiosk in Sim Lim Square in April 2007. The court heard that his uncle in China helped him to source for these items. Subsequently, his uncle's son, Li Xixin, 25, arrived from Shenzhen to join the business after completing his studies.
In April 2008, they set up a company called Yaomin Digital with both of them as directors drawing a monthly salary of $3,000.
The cousin, who put in $120,000, was the major shareholder. They rented a unit on the fourth floor and set up several makeshift kiosks in the shopping centre. In July 2008, the two partners decided to sell China-made cell phones as the sales of MP3 and MP4 devices were declining.
On Aug 7, 2009, officers attached to the Intellectual Property Rights Branch (IPRB) of the Criminal Investigation Department raided the premises rented by Yaomin in Sim Lim Square. A total of 615 fakes, comprising counterfeit cell phones, headsets, batteries, user manuals and packaging, were seized. But this did not deter Li. A second raid on Dec 2, 2010 was conducted and a further 7,327 fakes were discovered. Li's cousin is on the run.
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PRCs again..
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No wonder everybody wants to be a Singapore PR.
Can make big money.
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San zai ji makes big money.
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once China-man come to S'pore all their nonsense fake stuff will come also............