Illegal set-top boxes being hawked online for 'one-off fee'
Sellers claim boxes give buyers access to StarHub cable TV channels for life
Published on May 14, 2012
Seized illegal set-top boxes used to access StarHub cable TV channels being destroyed in March last year at a scrap-metal site in Kranji. Such decoders are being sold online for between $150 and $250. -- PHOTO: STARHUB
By Bryna Sim
Illegal set-top boxes are still being sold here, as its sellers take to the Internet to market their wares anonymously.
The sellers' advertisements claim that once the box is purchased for a one-off fee, buyers would be able to access all of StarHub's cable television channels for life.
The boxes decode StarHub's encrypted broadcast signals and allow users to bypass the company's monthly subscription fees. The decoders sold online cost between $150 and $250.
Sellers of the boxes appeared to be aware that what they were doing was against the law. In a forum thread, a netizen asked one of the sellers, who went by the name 'best-electronic', if what he was selling was legal.
Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.
