A 22-year-old man who went into Essex County Council's Trading Standards HQ to try and sell counterfeit DVDs has been fined £100 and ordered to pay £200 in costs.

Hau Bing Zhou admitted three offences under the Trade Descriptions Act and three offences under the Trade Marks Act at Witham Magistrates on Monday.

The court was told how Zhou went along to the Trading Standards HQ site believing it was an office complex and tried selling his goods, stored in a rucksack to two trading standards officers on June 4 this year.

Zhou, who gave addresses in both Danbury and Peckham, had films including Troy and The Day After Tomorrow. He was invited into the building by Trading Standards officers and to show what he had in his bag.

When he realised he was actually speaking to Trading Standards officers, he fled on his bike but was followed using Chelmsford's CCTV system before being caught by Essex Police.

The court ordered that the fake DVDs should be forfeited.

Peter Martin, Essex County Council's Cabinet Member for Trading Standards, said: "This was a highly unusual case and, while it has a comic element, there is a serious message here. The latest findings from the Federation Against Copyright Theft are that about 2,000,000 counterfeit films were seized last year - up 40 per cent on the previous year. The connection between counterfeit goods and organised crime are well proven and we would urge people who see counterfeit goods being sold not to buy them but report them."

Published Wednesday September 29, 2004

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