Uday Singh, owner of a video business in Fiji, has told the Fiji Times that his company has lost F$350,000 (US$170,000), closed five stores and laid off 20 staff members from his Video Ezy chain because of the availability of pirated DVDs in the country.

As a result, he says, he has decided to join the pirates.

Singh told the newspaper that he has given up on his legitimate business because of “flourishing pirates everywhere” and lack of support and prosecution of DVD pirates by government authorities. The newspaper said Singh’s decision to use pirated DVDs in his business stemmed from continued losses and the need to keep the business afloat and pay some staff and operational expenses.

“We have fought hard to combat piracy and [are one of the only companies] that has fully complied with the Fiji Copyright Act, distributing and renting the correct region movies, paying royalties to the distributors and [offering] a library choice and selection of movies, until we had no choice but to close our operations,” he told the newspaper.

Singh said legitimate video stores in Fiji face counterfeit DVDs imported from China, Malaysia and other Southeast Asia nations. “With the cost of bringing a [legitimate] DVD from overseas at approximately F$70 each, setting up a DVD store is not something people will rush into.”