NEWS & UPDATES
Owners Of Adjoining Semi-D's Caught Stealing Electricity
SIBU, 17th JUNE 2016, FRIDAY: Owners of two adjoining semi-detached houses at Jalan Jerwit were caught stealing electricity by a SESCO led meter inspection operation recently. The inspection was scheduled after the unrealistically low electricity consumption of the neighbouring siblings raised SESCO's suspicions.
Conducted by Syarikat SESCO Berhad, the retail and operations arm of Sarawak Energy, the team comprised SESCO technicians, Sarawak Energy Auxiliary Police, inspectors from the Electrical Inspectorate Unit (EIU) of the Ministry of Public Utilities and the Police.
The team accessed the premises after obtaining a search warrant from the Magistrate and seized evidence which included direct tapping cables, isolators and the whole meter. A police report was also lodged for further action on the case.
Although the tampered wiring was well hidden, the highly trained inspection team was well equipped with meter tampering detecting instruments and was successful in detecting the tampered wiring.
A SESCO spokesperson said, “SESCO first detected irregularities in the readings when the monthly electricity consumption of the premises registered an unrealistically low amount for a semi-detached house equipped with several air conditioning units and other high consumption electrical appliances. Both owners will be called in to assist in the investigations,” he said.
“The wiring system was tampered with from behind the meter board and also at the portion which was partially buried underground. The meter inspection team had to dig into the ground to access the meter wiring system and retrieve the illegal connection which was joined via an electrical contactor.
SESCO will continue to work closely with EIU and other authorities to curb power theft in Sarawak. Stealing electricity is illegal and dangerous, and can lead to injury or fatality. Power theft offenders will be charged under Section 33(5) of the Electricity Ordinance which carries a fine of up to RM100,000 or imprisonment of five years or both.
Those with information on suspicious activities involving power theft are encouraged to contact SESCO power theft hotline 082-443535 or email customercare@sarawakenergy.com.my. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
