EPL lawyer ‘blown away’ seeing illegal streaming boxes at Sim Lim Square

When Singtel was Singapore’s official broadcast licensee of the English Premier League (EPL) in 2016, it informed the football league that games were being broadcast illegally here.

And that illegal streaming devices were being sold openly at Sim Lim Square, the popular IT and electronics mall in Rochor Canal Road.

Mr Kevin Plumb, who was the Premier League’s director of legal services at that time, had never heard of the place before and visited it in 2017.

He was shocked that shops here were selling such gadgets openly and how easy it was to buy one, comparing the experience to going to a legitimate Apple Store.

In October 2022, police officers raided several retail shops in Sim Lim Square and rounded up 17 people for selling illegal streaming devices.

In October 2024, a seller there and his companies became the first to be prosecuted under Section 150 of the Copyright Act that was amended in 2021, which targets copyright infringement by commercial dealers of illegal streaming devices.

The seller was sentenced to 10 months’ jail, while his two shops, MT Gadget+ and Grandnew, were fined $200,000 and $100,000 respectively.

Mr Plumb, 44, who became the league’s general counsel in 2021, spoke to The Straits Times on Jan 22 at the Premier League’s Singapore office at Frasers Tower in Cecil Street.

He said he was shocked during his visit to Sim Lim Square, with a colleague in early 2017, to buy a device to see what they were up against.

He said: “It was such a ‘nice experience’ buying the device – a proper shop with proper branding. It didn’t feel at all like you were doing anything wrong, or that the sellers were doing anything illegal.

“We were completely blown away by it.”

In 2018, the year after Mr Plumb’s visit, Singtel, StarHub, Fox Networks Group and the Premier League hauled two Android TV box sellers to court against piracy.

Synnex Trading was fined $160,800, while its director was fined $36,600.

Mr Plumb said the Premier League then wrote cease and desist letters to the sellers of illegal streaming devices at Sim Lim Square, which saw a close to 80 per cent reduction in physical stores offering such devices.

The Ministry of Law noted then that Singapore’s Copyright Act did not account for technological developments, including set-top boxes and other streaming devices and services that allow people to access content from illegal sources.

It said in July 2021 there was some legal uncertainty regarding whether enforcement action could be successfully taken.

The Act was amended later that year, banning the sale of media streaming boxes with “add-on” services that help consumers to access pirated content.

Describing the 10-month jail term in the MT Gadget+ and Grandnew cases as significant, Mr Plumb said the progress seen over the years has allowed rights owners to have a lot of confidence in Singapore.

He added: “It sends a huge message to rights owners that their rights will be protected, and it sends a message to pirates, that their activity won’t be tolerated.

“And it sends a really clear message to consumers – that buying these devices is a problem.”

Mr Plumb, who has been with the Premier League for 18 years, said piracy is an ever-evolving landscape and that it is a lucrative endeavour for criminals to make money through paid subscriptions, and via accessing people’s data and using malware.

From peer-to-peer streaming and illegal decoder cards that were popular 20 years ago, Mr Plumb noted the shift in the kinds of technology used to commit piracy, with the subsequent rise of illicit streaming devices.

He added in recent years, free websites, mobile apps and social media have become prevalent means for piracy.

He said the Premier League has an internal team of specialists, and an external group of social media experts who monitor social media sites when games are live, and work with the various platforms to take down illegal streams on social media.

Mr Plumb said nearly 90 per cent of pirated content is blocked before it is uploaded to Meta, which is where most infringements occur, and that YouTube and TikTok have a similarly high rate of successful blocks.

The Premier League office opened in Singapore in 2019 – its first international outpost, with fighting piracy one of the reasons for its establishment.

It now has offices in New York, and Beijing.

Mr Plumb said through its Singapore office, the league has worked with regional law enforcement agencies to tackle piracy.

“Being located in South-east Asia also allows us to be closer to our broadcasters, understand the local trends and to tailor our anti-piracy strategies accordingly,” he added.

In July 2024, the Premier League aided the Thai Department of Special Investigation in raiding an illegal broadcasting operation disguised as a car wash in Bangkok’s Khlong Sam Wa district.

The network, involving more than 30,000 members, caused financial damages exceeding 2.9 billion baht (S$115.7 million).

On Nov 24, 2024, the Hong Kong authorities raided a restaurant illegally streaming Premier League matches and arrested two men. About HK$18,000 (S$3,110) worth of illegal streaming devices, and audiovisual and network equipment were seized.

Mr Plumb said the league has also worked alongside local broadcasters in its annual fan education campaign, Boot Out Piracy, to protect its fans against the significant risks associated with pirated content.

He added: “The issue of illegal streaming boxes being sold at Sim Lim Square had been an example of a more general concern of piracy from our broadcasters in the region and was one of the reasons for us first coming to Singapore eight years ago.

“It started a trajectory of work involving improved legislation, which has led to precedent criminal cases, as well as site blocking action and consumer education efforts that have allowed us to tackle the issue of piracy in the region.”