CFZ man arrested for pirating Microsoft products

There has been a lot of controversy lately over the Corozal Free Zone and the role it plays in siphoning off Belize’s hard currency. But a police report today indicates that currency violations are not the only illegal activity taking place in the zone. Based on complaints from the Microsoft Corporation, police on Friday arrested a Chinese national for allegedly running a massive bootlegging operation that manufactured bogus software including Windows 98 and 2000 as well as Office 2000. Forty-five year old Kenny Mark Zheng was charged with three counts of conspiracy and attempting to obtain property by deception, preparing for a crime, pirating copyright material, infringing copyright and forging a legal trade mark. According to Microsoft, the company Phoenix Industrial Limited has been pirating the software since 1999. A spokesman for the Free Zone told News 5 that Phoenix closed around a year ago and was engaged in the manufacture of CD’s. Zheng is believed to be associated with a new company operating in the zone. Belize passed copyright legislation early in the year 2000.