NEED URGENT HELP + ADVICE: Taking legal actions/reporting on replica rolex sellers

[angus]

My company does sourcing of skilled workers for the government mainly from countries like china, vietnam, and other Asian states. Recently, We got aquainted with a chinese (from China) worker whom is interested in working in a large MNC company as an IT support worker, whom pays almost twice of what he is earning now. All worked well till I recently realised that this worker has been making a killing out of selling fake rolexes in singapore, mainly via yahoo auction websites, and other websites. He has been selling fake rolexes to many parts of the world since 2003 when he first came to singapore. You will be surprised. This guys's replica business is bringing in more than S$1000 PER DAY! a rough calculation means that his guy is drawing close to S$30,000 per month for selling fake watches and he alos has direct links with replica manufacturers in China.

Realising this problem, company decided not to provide him with the IT support staff job to avoid future implications and we have not entereed any form of contracts with him. As a result he is very sore over our rejection of his application, he decided to blaspheme and make false accusations about our company. However, this guy is one tricky bugger and he knows the law really well such that till now, we do not have hard evidential proof against his accusations and damages made to the company. His damage is great to our company as he is an ex forum moderator for a website where many overseas workers in singapore are congregated. the reach of this website is extremely wide with more than 5000 hits per day and total membership count of 230,000!. I really do not know what has he done since we could not physically locate his accusations on the forum. However, it became obvious for the past week when my business dropped drastically and new applicants had serious doubts about our company as a result of "hear-say" from the forum.

Since we are unable to stop him online. We will have to expose his highly lucrative operation to the police. I have his information:

full name
physical build, height
home address and block number (but not his house number) in singapore
his local bank account number
his working location
his yahoo auction website ID
He usually does direct mail orders within singapore. However, he told me (when we were still on good terms) that he will meet up with with buyers at the block below his house for "inspection of watches" as the buyers are becoming more fussy.
I also had posed as a fake buyer enquiring and pretending to be "interested". He reciporcated to all of my bogus mails and even sent he a catalogue of his watches. I pretended to be a "wholesale buyer" and he claims that he has in stock of more than 120pcs of rolex, panerai, omega, etc... he also carries fake branded bags and clothings but do not have much in stock currently. (see attached pictures)

What are evidences do I need to collect against him. I have attempted to make a police report at my neighbouring police station but the police seems very reluctan to do work and stared at me incredulously!!!

Can I know whom are the parties I could appraoch to report this seller, specifically which government body in singapore? Will going to the rolex centre in singapore help.

Many thanks. I do really hope to hear from some lawyers/police about this urgent issue.

thanks
angus

[C.J.]

That's a tough question, pal. I have no idea of the laws over where you are nor the rules of evidence or the chain thereof. Around here, his operation wouldn't be illegal unless the watches were advertised and sold as the real thing, thus making the transaction theft by deception, a relatively minor charge depending upon the amount involved in the transaction. Charging in this matter would require each individual customer to lodge their own individual complaints, making this a rather involved and trying case. Jurisdictional boundaries, while often times easily overcome, would come into play, as well. If he is selling/advertising the watches as replicas/fakes Roles SA would have to pursue copyright infringement ramification via the civil court system.

The information you've obtained thus far provides for a fair jump start, providing it can be used under the investigatory guidelines and restrictions set forth in your jurisdiction.

I know I've given you a whole lot of words and really no answer. I'm sorry, but there really isn't an easy one to offer

[montecristo]

Contact the local custom?

[Gaijin]

I'm a cop. I'll try and answer this. The local police are kinda tied in what they could do. Its not the normal call for service that they are going to recieve on any given day.

One thing that a police officer looks at in deciding if they can do anything about it is 1. Is there a victim? 2. Who is the victim and are they willing to follow through and prosecute?

Without that they have nothing. In this case Rolex would be the victim. But is selling a fake rolex a crime where you are? If not its a civil matter and the cops again won't get involved. If the person who is buying the watch knows they are buying a replica then they are not being victimized.

However if selling a replica is a crime then you need Rolex to act as a victim in order to have anything done about it...and then again it may be viewed as a civil matter between Rolex and the guy. He could be sued and forced to pay damages to Rolex. Highly unlikely.

I say go directly to the RSC there and report him and let them run with it if they will.

[ohlins]

you can contact IPOS ....intellectual property office of singapore.....

they can advise you on the appropriate actions....

[Kris]

Suing for counterfeiting in a country such as Singapore is like trying to hand out speeding tickets at the Indy 500. Do you really think that Rolex and the police are not aware of this kind of activity?

I bet this guy is one of thousands in Singapore.

I'd focus on the slander of your own company and forget the watches.

Do you own this company? If you're just an employee, forget about that also. It's not your problem. I'd just report it to Management and leave it be.

[astcell]

Raise your prices until you scare him away. Then everyone saves face. Worry about your company first!

[finance21]

30k a month, good for him!

If he is able to make 30k per month without hurting anyone perhaps we can all learn a lesson from him. It sounds like he is doing much better than I am.

[pcarson]

It's a sad fact of global life; fake watches are increasing in sophistication and the range of fake Rolexes is expanding. There are now six recognised levels of fake, with some harsh reviewers grudgingly giving some feint credit to the higher-end counterfeiters. Mostly, they just can't figure out how they do it for the money!

Rolex has no pressing interest in this sort of thing because historically, they would only prosecute 1) to make it look like they are protecting the brand in case they ever really need to, and 2) to recover lost revenue, which isn't an issue. People who buy fakes don't buy Rolexes. They're different market demographics, so the company has usually distanced itself because counterfeiting does not usually siphon revenue from Rolex.

There may even be a small step-up phenomenon whereby people who can afford to fork out $1500 for a Grade 6 Replica will regret being so bloody silly and go buy the real thing. That's unproven, but plausible. In any case, it's a tiny number.

On the other hand, speaking of numbers, imagine what it would cost to prosecute the counterfeiters. You could buy Rolex for the legal fees, and still fail. You should see what's happening in Russia with the digital music industry; it's a expensive circus, and no-one is winning except the crooks.

Certainly Rolex has proportionally little involvement is this type of thing, given the size of the problem. Can't say I blame them; if they not complaining, then the only victim is the consumer who is sold a fake as genuine. From there it's case by case, pun intended.

It comes down to local laws and regulations. I'm with the guys above; forget it and concentrate on your company. If it's your company, get serious; if not then report him and think about real watches. These guys are cockroaches; step on one and you'll see the whole family in an hour. It would be easier to eradicate third-world debt than fake watches, and more worthwhile.

[BondandBigM]

Unfortunately it's is a bit like drug dealers in the UK, one gets picked up but the gap is filled by another two on the same day. He won't be the only one, you only need to take a 40 minute ferry trip from Singapore to the islands and the shops are full of fake anything you like.

I wouldn't be loosing sleep over it.