MPAA, IFPI anti-piracy ‘hero’ murdered
p2pnet news view | MPAA News:- A man described by the New Straits Times as a “noted” Thai “anti-piracy campaigner” was shot dead while he was eating at a restaurant on Monday night.
Kasim Ratanawongse, 56, a, “leading lawyer in the Malaysian Thai community,” worked for Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony BMG’s IFPI (International Federation of Phonographic Industry).
He was also a director of Hollywood’s MPAA (Motion Pictures Export Association of America), says the story, going on:
“Kasim became a household name when he led numerous anti-piracy operations.”
He was walking towards his motorcycle when he was shot in the back from close range with a sawn-off shotgun,” says the New Straits Times, adding:
“The killer then fled on a waiting motorcycle.”
The Star has Lt-Col Phamong Sall saying, “We are focusing our investigations on jealousy and personal issues. We are also probing if there was any business rivalry involved since his relatives are said to be prominent traders.”
[Pix are from The Straits Times]
(Thanks, Ung)
[I'm deleting all comment posts mocking Ratanawongse's death - JN]
New Straits Times – Anti-piracy hero Kasim Cha Tong shot dead, November 5, 2008
The Star – Slain anti-piracy crusader to be cremated in Sg Golok, November 6, 2008
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November 6th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Karma’s a bitch, ain’t it?
November 6th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
[I’m deleting all comment posts mocking Ratanawongse’s death - JN]
Should it be surprising that a site which specializes in mocking the copyright enforcers is likely to get some mimickery returned back?
This could explain why there are zero posts (remaining) here, while Torrentfreak’s comment section on this topic is half a dozen pages long. http://torrentfreak.com/ex-mpaa-and-ifpi-anti-piracy-enforcer-shot-dead-081105/
Writing unflatteringly about dead people is a lot safer than living people, as they can’t sue for libel from the grave. This might be why Wikipedia has a much lower standard for biographies of dead people than they do for living people.
OK, back on topic,. It’s unlikely that this operation was any kind of payback from the DVD bootleggers that form a major business in that part of the world. It’s no secret that the police there are corrupt, and it’s only those pirate operations who refuse to pay the required bribes that might actually get shut down. Most of the time, it’s all just a show to keep Hollywood happy. The people busted then get released and go right back work at another stamping plant, with the police turning a blind eye once again, until it’s time for another temporary show of force.
The professional bootleggers know full well that there would be a major crackdown against their business if they ever ordered a hit on a cop, so it’s unlikely they’d be involved in this murder in any way. That’s just good business sense, and that’s also why the police don’t have copyright infringers (and victims of past enforcement) high on their list of suspects.
“We are focusing our investigations on jealousy and personal issues” probably means police suspect the guy might have been fooling around with someone’s wife. That’s how a lot of people end up getting killed, including policemen.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
“Should it be surprising that a site which specializes in mocking the copyright enforcers is likely to get some mimickery returned back?”
Personally, I’m always curious about why people who don’t like p2pnet always keep coming back.
November 7th, 2008 at 11:53 am
” Personally, I’m always curious about why people who don’t like p2pnet always keep coming back ”
That’s always puzzled me as well.
November 9th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Jon, delete whatever you want, but I believe that this guy knew the job he was doing, he knew who he was working for, and his fate being similar to the one of Vardan Kushnir is not a coincidence at all. It is just about fairness to everyone else.