MIRI, Oct 3 — Syarikat Sesco Berhad (Sesco), the utility arm of Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) caught a shopping mall and one of its main tenants allegedly stealing electricity during a raid conducted over the weekend.
A Sesco spokesperson said months of surveillance was conducted at the mall following a tip-off from a member of the public.
“Our initial investigation showed that there were abnormalities in the meter reading.
“During the raid, investigators discovered the wiring system of two meters had been tampered with,” he said.
The spokesperson said one meter supplies electricity to the air conditioning system of the mall and hotel lobby next to the mall while the other meter supplies to one of the main tenants.
“The metering circuits were found cut and wrapped with wire tape causing the meters to register only one phase of the power consumption instead of three phases.
“This caused low meter reading, recording only about one third of the actual energy consumption and resulting in an estimated loss of about RM100,000 per month for both meters,” the spokesman explained.
He said all evidence of meter tampering was seized and a police report was lodged for further investigation.
Sesco warned that stealing electricity is a serious crime that endangers lives and can cause fire to the premises.
Sesco advised members of the public not to trust any service provider claiming to be able to reduce electricity bills and allowing business owners to enjoy limitless electricity usage.
“These service providers are duping the business owners and at the end of the day, it is the owner who will be held responsible for power theft crime,” the spokesperson added.
He said the owners will be charged for meter tampering under Section 33(5) of the Sarawak Electricity Ordinance which carries a fine of RM100,000 and or five years’ jail.
