Local Authorities Conspiracy to Commit Extortion

And again, dirty cops, conspiracy to commit extortion of now, an innocent trader. You may think this is a one off thing. No it isn't.

Our authorities have been involved in a whole host of crimes against citizens. I am sure that the reported story below on the 10th May 07 is one of many unreported cases. This is certainly more than just a bribe or one may say, extortion of RM50-100 for traffic offences.

What I hear from some very reliable sources, as well as the victims themselves is that the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, as well as the Enforcement Officers of City Hall or DBKL have been conspiring and extorting money from the DVD peddlers who are selling pirated DVDs.

Apparently, the proceeds from the raids, meaning the DVDs that are consfiscated in the tenths of thousands are subsequently resold to the peddlers and syndicates whom they were originally consfiscated from at a price of a few thousand Ringgit for a batch of discs. Obviously this isn't something that is sanctioned by the government, but it is obvious that this goes high enough whereby the entire department can turn a blind eye, auditors and gatekeepers are silenced and the many people who make it work are well protected from scrutiny.

What seems to irritate the peddlers is that the officers think that they owe them a living and that they are getting fat on cheating the public, the MPAA and that they have to buy back what was originally theirs. However, due to shortage of supply, this is welcome and the price is paid

Our hearts actually go out to the DVD peddlers, not so much that we enjoy buying and watching movies that would otherwise be unaffordable to us at RM150 for an original. The local cuts are rubbish, no THX, DTS or surround sound, and they are also censored by FINAS who applies strick Islamic thinking that a mother kissing a child is "haram" a sin and shouldn't be shown. Much less, the occassional kissing and revealing clothes. Did we say that it's also about RM60 per DVD?

But really, our hearts go out to them because they have families as well, and although they are peddling pirated copies to the public, they are not involved in the vices that plague our cities, they don't hurt anyone and they just go about their day ensuring that we have a free flow of information that is uncensored for our un-interrupted viewing pleasure. The only one who sufferes is the MPAA and some large production companies like Universal and MGM that already make a killing in the developed world.

Fact is, we are a developing nation, though it may be wrong, piracy has done it's good for us. Not only for the movies, but also all the software.

Wrong? Bad? Immoral? If you think so, think again...

A short and simple example. A kid learns how to use Photoshop, a software that would easily be RM5,000, and he becomes proficient in it and applies it in school and has a genuine interest. He eventually becomes a graphic artist or a computer programmer. Who is to say? No family would spend that much to buy software, or even RM600 for Windows Vista. Just so that their child can experiment with it, eventually get bored and lose interest? No, it doesn't happen, not in a developing nation.

Software piracy has help build the proficiency of our nation's people and enabled the ones who can least afford it and the ignorant to experience it and learn something about it. What we have today, is a result of that. All it takes is interest and RM10 to get a copy.

As wrong as it sounds, there is good that has come from it. Our government fails to see what they are supporting and what the nation needs. They are supporting western values of developed countries that can already afford these things.

However, as I understand that the people in government are mostly now from the 20,000 local graduates that couldn't get jobs in the private sector due to language proficiency and substandard understandings of their degrees, I suppose, that some dimwitted idea would have come from one of these people, probably because they don't see the benefit of it, didn't benefit from it and is obviously computer illiterate. They are most likely the ones surfing for porn rather than reading articles like this from the world of free information and enlightening themselves. God help them and God help us all.

Two cops arrested after trader reports extortion

KUALA LUMPUR: Two policemen were arrested early yesterday for allegedly extorting RM21,000 from a night market trader.

Both the policemen, said to be lance corporals in their 40s, were arrested at the Sentul district police headquarters when they came in for questioning.One is said to be attached to the city police headquarters and the other is from the Sentul district. They were remanded for three days.

The 42-year-old trader, who lodged a report at the Taman Melawati police station, claimed he had been extorted twice within the past two weeks.In both cases, the same suspects are believed to be involved. However, it is learnt that investigators are looking for at least one other suspect.In the first incident about two weeks ago, the trader was at his stall when he was approached by three men who introduced themselves as policemen.

They arrested him for allegedly being involved in illegal gaming. The trader was told that he would be released if he paid them RM15,000.The money was brought by the victim’s son to a police station in Setapak, and the victim was released.

Last Wednesday, while the trader was at his stall about 9pm, he was again approached by three men. It is not known if they were the same men.The three men told the trader that they wanted to check his car. They did not find anything. The trader was then ordered to drive the three to a foodcourt in Bandar Baru Sentul.

He told police that the three demanded another RM15,000. The trader appealed and the amount was reduced to RM6,000.Once again, the trader contacted his son, who brought the money to the foodcourt.

After that, the trader claimed he received several calls from one of the suspects who demanded more money.

Fed up, he lodged the police report.

But in the end Malaysia Still Boleh!

But for all the wrong things... Here is another mess that isn't being properly addressed in our country. The Mat Rempit. Basically, thugs on small CC motorcycles that are between 70cc to 125cc who tune them up to perform speeds exceeding 120kph. They ride in groups and they act like gangsters on the road. Should one of them ever collide with your vehicle, and is hurt, it would be deemed to be your fault and should you get out of your vehicle or not escape, you will be beaten up with their helmets and whatever weapons they have. It has been reported previously that they have attacked without reason.

What does the police do... apart from not being around, well, they occassionally run "operasi" and do silly things like throw them in jail for one night or make them push their motorcycles 2 kilometers to the police station. Frankly, they should have their bikes confiscated and they should face a jail term. The fines should also be for each offence in terms of each modification on their bike, which I have always understood is illegal. It was illegal to change mufflers and modify engines and so forth, but none of this is enforced even when they are caught.

So what happens? They get back on a few weeks later and make a damn niusance of themselves.

Again, something our government has failed to address. They catch the Chinese pirated DVD sellers who are just making an "honest" living. Well, at least they are not hurting anyone or being a nuisance to anyone other than the MPAA. But so what, people buy DVDs not because they cannot afford to goto the cinema, it's to collect and also watch all the nice bits that our friendly people at FINAS / Ministry of Information a.k.a Censorship Board censor. Things like partial nudity, swear words - including bitch and bastard, kissing scenes and so forth. It's our only avenue to get the real deal. And of course, buying the original means forking out about RM120+ for the Region 1 version, which is a lot more than what the Singaporeans pay.

So back to the Mat Rempit... they are violent, the source of all sorts of vice, they are usually high on drugs and they are a real threat to society. How do they compare to some DVD seller just making a living and feeding his family? Hey... prioritise la... anyway, the government will pay for this dearly in the next elections.

There are stories from the DVD sellers that I will share soon enough, and they are all about how the enforcing authorities line their pockets, and this is not even about straightforward bribes... if there is one thing these people are good at, it's finding the best way to make their lives easier... always.