Video Pirate Who Flew Viet Flag to Serve Time
The man who sparked furious protests in Little Saigon by hanging a poster of Ho Chi Minh and flying a Vietnamese flag in his video store is scheduled to surrender to authorities today and begin serving a 90-day jail sentence.
Truong Van Tran, 39, of Stanton was charged with video piracy under state law after police who were at his Bolsa Avenue store in 1999 to protect him spotted 147 videocassette recorders in his shop, Hi Tek TV & VCR, and later determined he had 17,000 bogus videos.
He was convicted in August 1999 and sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years’ probation. He has been free on bail while he appealed his conviction. The state Supreme Court refused to hear his case in May.
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