The Electric New Paper:

ODEX ANIME DOWNLOADING SAGA TURNS NASTY
MOST HATED MOST WANTED

• Company director posts messages 'gloating' about catching illegal downloaders
• He gets flamed online. Some even threaten to beat him up and set house on fire

WHEN local anime distributor Odex began cracking down on illegal downloaders, Netizens rose almost as one to decry the action, never mind the important fact that Odex had the law on its side.

By Liew Hanqing, 16 August 2007

WHEN local anime distributor Odex began cracking down on illegal downloaders, Netizens rose almost as one to decry the action, never mind the important fact that Odex had the law on its side.

Now the online row has taken a nasty turn as the more unsavoury elements of the Wild Wild Web take potshots at Odex company director Stephen Sing.

His crime?

They felt he had gloated over his company's success in taking illegal downloaders to task.

Mr Sing soon found himself branded the 'most hated man in Singapore's anime community', as labelled by one blogger.

Unhappy Netizens have posted his personal information and photographs on a forum thread and on various blogs.

When some went on the forums and threatened to beat him up and set fire to his house, he decided enough was enough.

Worried for his safety, Mr Sing made a police report.

'I'll just leave it to the police,' he told The New Paper yesterday.

'I'd rather not engage (the forum members), because they're not going to react very well to whatever I have to say.'

Two months ago, after a 'particularly bad experience with a downloader who had a bad attitude', Mr Sing said he went on an online forum and made some comments which were perceived as gloating.

The comment, posted on the SCORD forum (aseancord.idasia.org) under his online monicker, xysing, read: 'Hahahahah! I double-6-ed so many downloaders. Serve (sic) them right!'

'Double-6' is a gaming term which means hitting or striking an opponent.

In a separate post on the forum, Mr Sing said that he had been 'busy sueing (sic) people'.

Mr Sing is one of two directors in Odex. The other is managing director Peter Go.

In June, Odex began sending letters to Internet users whose accounts were linked to illegal downloading activities.

They were made to sign a letter promising not to download any more anime and pay between $3,000 and $5,000 in reimbursement to the company.

Following the crackdown, forum members and other Netizens dug up information on Mr Sing's online activities - the forums he frequented, his educational background, and even his Sunday routine.

One forum member even posted a picture of his wife.

Forum member Jeff Koh, 29, an IT professional told The New Paper that he felt Mr Sing's comment was 'extremely unbecoming behaviour for a company director'.

He said: '(Mr Sing) mocks the people who run afoul of the nation's intellectual property law whether due to ignorance or on purpose.

'He is supposed to be handing out justice and delivering proper education to the next generation of young people.'

A forum posting, by SeCt0r7, said: 'To give out such comments he is simply gloating over other (sic) misfortune... May the whole Singapore online community and anime lovers unite and turn the tide against Odex.'

A blogger called Atalude added that the flaming of Mr Sing was a form of 'divine retribution' for the way Odex has been cracking down on illegal downloaders.

But some disapprove of the flaming. One blogger, Impz, wrote: 'Being childish over this downloading and the words spoken is really not putting the community in a good light.

'What will people think of us? My bet is that we will be seen as a group of immature little punks that know nothing of the law and simply know how to flame.'

Mr Sing said he was shocked that his comment on the forum had sparked off such a huge reaction.

He said: 'I wrote that comment almost two months ago, so when my friend told me what was happening, I couldn't even remember it.'

'TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT'

Mr Sing said he made that remark in response to his friend's invitation to meet up. Telling his friend why he could not meet up, he said he was busy taking people to court.

Mr Sing felt that his comments had been 'taken out of context'.

'Some bloggers post irresponsibly, because they think they can say anything they want because they can do it anonymously,' he said.

This period has been a challenge for him, especially when meeting downloaders with 'a bad attitude'.

'Most of the time,' Mr Sing said, 'we want to help the downloaders we meet. But occasionally, we meet those who refuse to listen to us, even though they have broken the law.'

He added that some downloaders even used vulgarities on him and tore up his namecards in a show of defiance.

In hindsight, Mr Sing said he must take some of the blame for his comments, because he got 'quite carried away'.

On the flaming, he admitted that he was angry when he saw the postings for the first time on Monday.

'It's caused a lot of stress for me and my friends, facing so much public hatred,' he said.

'I think it's been a wake-up call and a lesson learnt - that any information you post online, however long ago, can come back and haunt you later.'

Lawyer Lim Seng Siew of Ong Tay and Partners told The New Paper that bloggers who post defamatory statements can be sued by the person defamed. It does not matter where the blogger or server is located.

He said: 'In the Odex situation, if the words and the pictures are crafted in a way that is harmful to that person's reputation, then there is defamation.

'The bloggers can avoid liability only if they can show that their statements are true or justifiable.'