A man was caught red-handed while 'stealing' the new Leon Schuster film Mad Buddies 'off the big screen' using a camcorder, during the first show of the film on Friday at Ster-Kinekor, Maponya Mall, Soweto.

The suspect is believed to work for a pirate syndicate in the Johannesburg area who released a ‘fake’ Mad Buddies on the streets of Johannesburg earlier in the week.

He was due to appear in the Commercial Crime Court, Johannesburg, for bail on Monday.

This is the second camcording incident of this film since it was released theatrically on Friday morning, the SA Federation Against Copyright Theft said in a statement.

The other suspect, who was spotted at Bedford Centre, fled after being approached by Ster-Kinekor staff.

‘Stealing films’ from the big screen as the first source is fast becoming a reality in South Africa. ‘Stealing a film’ causes millions of rands of losses to the producers and distributors of the film, and results in the direct loss of income to actors and crew in the industry overall.

SAFACT stated that a first-time offender faces a fine and/or direct imprisonment of 3 years.