Chinese national sent to prison

A court sentenced a Chinese national to two years in prison yesterday after she was found guilty of selling counterfeit razor blades six years ago in Binondo, Manila.

Judge Antonio Eugenio Jr., of the Manila City Regional Trial Court (MCRTC) Branch 24, also fined Shi Mei Ya, P50,000 for violating intellectual property rights law.

In his eight-page ruling, Eugenio also ordered the destruction of over 4,300 packets of blades confiscated from Shi.

"After a cursory reading and evaluation of the uncontroverted evidence proffered by the prosecution, we find the accused liable for the crime charged in the information. It is indubitably clear that the retail establishment owned and operated by the accused...was engaged in the sale of counterfeit blade products bearing the trademark ‘Rubie’," Eugenio stated in his ruling.

According to court records, Pinkerton Consulting Services, Inc., a private investigating firm, was hired by the the complainant in the case, Gillette Company, to verify complaints of counterfeit blades being sold.

They conducted at least five so-called "test buy" operations from July until October of 2001 in several establishments including the stall owned by Shi, located along Plaza Miranda Street in Quiapo, Manila.

The purchased items were unlike the original Rubie blades, which are wrapped with inner wax paper through four Vaseline points to prevent movement during transport.

On Oct. 3, 2001, a market researcher from Pinkerton, accompanied by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Agent Rogelio Lacsamana, previously connected with the Intellectual Property Rights Division, placed a bulk order for blades and the saleslady introduced them to Shi.

They then applied for a search warrant and eventually seized packets of the counterfeit blades.