(4) Where the Telecommunications Authority or any public officer authorized in writing in that behalf by the Telecommunications Authority has reasonable grounds for believing that a person, in the course of trade or business, imports, exports, manufactures, sells, offers for sale or lets for hire unauthorized decoders, then he may—
- (a) require the person to produce for his inspection, at any place specified by him, any decoder imported, exported, manufactured, sold, offered for sale or let for hire by the person in the course of trade or business;
- (b) enter and inspect any premises at, to or from which he reasonably believes that the person imports, exports, manufactures, sells, offers for sale or lets for hire in the course of trade or business unauthorized decoders, and require the production to him of any books or documents relating to the decoders;
- (c) seize, remove and detain any unauthorized decoders.
(5) Domestic premises shall not be entered or searched under subsection (4) except pursuant to a warrant under subsection (6).
(6) Where a magistrate is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is an unauthorized decoder in any domestic premises used by a person whom he has reasonable grounds for believing has committed an offence under this section, then he may issue a warrant authorizing the Telecommunications Authority or any other public officer to enter and search the premises.
(7) The Telecommunications Authority or any public officer authorized in writing in that behalf, in the exercise of the powers under subsection (4) or pursuant to a warrant issued under subsection (6), may—
- (a) break open any outer or inner door of any place that he is empowered or authorized to enter and search;
- (b) remove by force any person or thing obstructing him or resisting any arrest, detention, search, inspection, seizure or removal that he is empowered to make or carry out;
- (c) detain any person found in any place that he is empowered or authorized to search until such place has been searched.
(8) A magistrate or court may, upon application by or on behalf of the Telecommunications Authority or by any public officer authorized in writing in that behalf by the Telecommunications Authority, order that any unauthorized decoder in respect of which there has been a contravention or attempted contravention of this section shall be forfeited to the Government, whether or not proceedings have been taken against any person in respect of the contravention or attempted contravention.
(9) In this section, “unauthorized decoder” (未經批准的解碼器) means a decoder by means of which encrypted television programmes provided under a licence can be viewed in decoded form without payment of a subscription where a subscription is required to be paid.
