The Myanmar authorities have warned of taking severe action against sale of pirated discs in the former capital of Yangon, saying that the punishment will be from a fine to jailing, the local weekly Voice journal reported Monday.
In the past, the authorities imposed a fine of 100,000 kyats (100 U.S. dollars) on sellers of pirated discs but now the punishment will be increased to a prison term of one to three years under a new policy laid down recently, the report said.
According to the report, seven big and small pirated-disc- selling shops in different townships were seized during a surprise check last month with a fine of 200,000 kyats (200 dollars) each imposed on the shops, the report added.
Myanmar has been stepping up cracking down on unlicensed local and foreign VCD/DVDs discs which are considered not suitable for public shows.
Finding that some local businessmen are selling, hiring and showing such VCD/DVD discs which are not in conformity with Myanmar culture, the Ministry of Home Affairs has warned the businessmen of abiding by related rules and regulations in doing their businesses.
The authorities also warned that illegally imported VCD/DVD features may imitate wrong life style, pointing that some scenes appearing in these records are against Myanmar culture and traditions.
Action is also being taken against violators who pirated video features and VCD/DVD discs legally produced by local distributors to prevent exploitation of those in the profession, according to the authorities.
The country's Video Scrutiny Central Committee has pledged to continue to prohibit all the video discs which are injurious to Myanmar culture and traditions and curb all illegal acts of video industry.
During the last few years, the Myanmar authorities occasionally seized and destroyed large amount of local and foreign uncensored, pornographic and pirated video tapes and VCD discs valued at tens of thousands of U.S. dollars.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has also been stepping up a nationwide campaign against the sale and distribution of illegal foreign video records in the country, targeting mainly at pornographic products.
The move is aimed at bringing down rape cases, which resulted from these illegal movies, and the authorities disclosed that the highest number of the cases was in Yangon division.