KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — The owners of 10 commercial units in Sabah will be charged in court over illegal meter tampering and electricity theft worth an estimated RM70,638.39, the Energy Commission (EC) has said.
EC West Coast Sabah director Nazlin Ab Alim Sidiki said the commission had carried out a joint operation with state power supplier Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) on September 5 to 7, and had identified these premises with tampered electricity meters.
“The estimated overall loss for all premises checked by EC and SESB is more or less RM70,638.39.
“After further investigation, we will get it more precise. The losses should be more. We will get more details to be brought to the prosecution,” she was quoted saying by local daily The Borneo Post.
Prior to the joint operation earlier this week, SESB had found abnormal levels of power consumption after monitoring the areas of Penampang, Lok Kawi, Kepayan and Lido over three to six months.
While investigations into these premises have yet to be completed, she said all 10 are expected to be brought to court for prosecution this year.
The 10 premises where the illegal meter tampering was found also include karoake outlets, seafood restaurant and bar.
Three of them will be charged under the Electricity Supply Act 1990's Sections 37(3) and 37(14), while the rest would be charged under the same law's Section 38, she said.
Non-domestic consumers who commit an offence under Section 37(3) will be liable to a fine of between RM20,000 to RM1 million or a maximum five-year jail term or both, while those convicted under Section 37(14) for damaging meters will be liable to a maximum RM50,000 fine or maximum two-year jail term or both.
A cold storage outlet — one of the three — had illegally reduced its electricity bill by 60 per cent by tampering with the meter box's yellow cable, while others who punched holes in the meter boxes made illegal savings of around 30 per cent, the paper reported.
Nazlin said investigations showed that the illegal meter tamperings could have only be carried out by skilled technicians who would lower the risks of fire breaking out or electrocution, adding that the EC would not hesitate to carry out further probes and that electric contractors risk losing their certificate or being suspended if they had done such tamperings.
The EC, which regulates power supply, said last month that 172 cases of electrical theft were recorded last year and that 206 cases have been recorded since this January.
