By Chua Hian Hou

THE Johor premises of two Singapore-linked companies were raided by the Malaysian authorities for using illegal software last week.

In a three-day operation last week, Malaysian Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism officers hit the premises of five companies, seizing 81 computers and 185 copies of infringing software from companies like Adobe and Microsoft worth $1.6 million.

Of the five, two had Singapore shareholders, said software industry watchdog Business Software Alliance in a statement on Wednesday. These are not the first Singapore-linked companies to run afoul of copyright laws overseas.

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