Little Saigon Merchant Gets 90 Days in Jail for Video Piracy

A Little Saigon retailer was convicted Tuesday of video piracy and sentenced to 90 days in jail, but he said he has no regrets about displaying the Communist symbols that sparked two months of protests at his store and ultimately drew attention to his video counterfeiting.

“Clearly, it’s unfair,” an unrepentant Truong Van Tran said in an interview at his home after his sentencing. “If they say what I did is wrong, then they should arrest all the other [video store owners] in Little Saigon, because everyone does the same thing.”

Tran and his lawyer said they regard the criminal charge as a ploy by Westminster officials to end 53 days of noisy protests that cost the city more than $750,000 in police services.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Corey Cramin found Tran guilty on a felony charge of illegally copying thousands of videotapes at his business in a Bolsa Avenue strip mall. Besides the jail sentence, Tran was ordered to serve three years of probation, do 80 days of community service, donate his 147 VCRs to charity and destroy the counterfeit tapes, which number more than 17,000. Tran had agreed to waive his right to a jury trial.

Tran’s attorney, Ron Talmo, said the conviction is being appealed. The judge agreed to stay Tran’s jail sentence during that time, provided he follows the terms of his probation.

Tran, 37, sparked a two-month protest in mid-January when he posted a picture of Communist leader Ho Chi Minh and a flag of the current Vietnamese government in his video shop.

His action ignited passionate protests from thousands of Vietnamese emigres in the community who consider the Communist symbols offensive. Many are exiles and former political prisoners who fled the Communist regime in their homeland.

Tran has defended his action by saying that he wanted to prompt dialogue in a community that has never accepted dissent on the issue of normalizing relations with Vietnam.

Tran said Tuesday that he sees himself as a champion of free speech and has no regrets, even though the protests cost him his business and livelihood.

“I don’t regret anything I did. I did what I thought was right. I wanted to have my voice heard,” he said.

The toll has been high. Since his store closed after his arrest five months ago, he said, he has had difficulty finding another job. He stays home with his two young children and prepares the meals while his wife, a computer programmer, brings home the paycheck.

“Things are a little bit tougher. If the car breaks down, I fix it,” he said. “I make the dinner. Since I’m at home, we don’t have to pay a baby-sitter.”

When he goes out in public, he often faces snickers from community members who recognize him.

“It’s hard,” he said. “They always know who I am, and they talk about me behind my back. Sometimes they stare. My daughter has been affected by it. She’s very nervous about meeting other people.”

Still, he speaks optimistically of setting up a business again if he can’t find work. And he’s certain his decision to display the Communist icons was right.

“I did this because I thought it would help the community. Even though I’ve lost my business and hurt my reputation, I think I’ve accomplished that,” he said. “Yes, I have succeeded.”