:: Welcome to African Echo - The Voice of Africa ::

TWO prolific illegal DVD sellers have been banned from East Ham, thanks to the joint efforts of Newham Council and the Police. Da Hua Weng, 34, and He Hua Jing, 33, both of Tanners Hill, New Cross appeared at Stratford Magistrates Court on June 17 charged with selling counterfeit DVDs under Section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994.

Weng was sentenced to 90 days imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was also given an Exclusion Order banning him from High Street North, East Ham between the junction of Barking Road and East Ham Station.

Jing was given a conditional discharge for 24 months and an Acceptable Behaviour Order not to loiter in any public place in Newham, nor carry or sell non-copyrighted DVDs. Weng and Jing have both been arrested several times for continually pestering members of the public into buying their DVDs, some of which were pornographic. Executive member for anti-social behaviour, Councillor June Leitch, said: “Consumers think that buying these cheap DVDs is a good idea.

However, the films are very poor quality. They are often filmed in the back of cinemas, so you will hear every cough and sneeze as well as see people walking in front of the camera. Sometimes, you end up with a film that has been dubbed into a different language. “These counterfeit DVD sellers are often linked to other forms of organised crime. They are unscrupulous and will stoop as low as to sell hardcore porn to children. I would thoroughly recommend that people avoid buying from these dodgy DVD sellers and only purchase from legitimate sources.”

Please email your comments to
editor@africanecho.co.uk