The Myanmar Music Association and Basic Video organization members have come down heavily on people selling pirated CDs in Rangoon (Yangon).

The seizures were made by policemen, Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) and market authorities from August 29 till September 2 in the Nadar Wun market festival.

However the sellers went about selling pirated CD's freely after they paid about 30,000 Kyat a day to the authorities for hiring shops. The retailers who could not hire shops had their CD's seized as they sold from the platform without paying tax.

"Ko An and A Tay Lay who sent the pirated CD's to me was not affected and was not put in jail even though the authorities caught him with the CD's because they paid up. I invested 60,000 Kyat in the business, that's why I could not pay tax," said a woman who sells CD's at the Bayinnaung traffic point. Her husband's wares were also was seized in Nandar Wun market.

Even though some people were released after paying bribes and the cases were closed her husband is still detained, she said adding that they sell the porated CD's for survival. She felt it was not a big enough crime to merit a jail term.

The authorities confiscated all the CDs in the shops and put the sellers in jail. But the sellers who could bribe them put up the CD's for sale openly and freely in the market.