Power theft: Man in Miri slapped with RM45,000 fine

MIRI (Aug 16): The Sessions Court here today fined a man RM45,000, in default six-month imprisonment, for theft of electricity supplied by Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB).

Sessions Court Judge Azreena Aziz convicted Chow Sui Wei of Jalan Kwang Tung here after he pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 33(5) of the Electricity Ordinance (Cap.50).

According to the brief facts of the case, on May 1, 2020, at 6.58pm, an enforcement team from the Revenue Management Division of Sesco, SEB’s electricity arm, conducted an inspection on a property at Pujut 4A here.

The operation was authorised under Section 32A of Electricity Ordinance.

Upon checking, the team discovered illegal direct-tapping of cables from the electricity meter connected to the consumer’s electrical appliances.

Chow was the occupier of the premises, and was found to have dishonestly abstracted energy supplied via this tampered meter; thereby committing an offence under Section 33(5) of the Electricity Ordinance (Cap.50).

Investigation revealed that there was a tenancy agreement entered between him and the landlord.

Unregistered electricity consumption is regarded as power theft in Sarawak, a criminal offence under Section 33(5) of the Electricity Ordinance, which carries a penalty of up to RM200,000 and/or five years of imprisonment.

The accused was represented by counsel Arthur Lee, while DPP Ronald Felix Hardin prosecuted on behalf of the Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication Sarawak.

In mitigation, Chow pleaded for leniency as he did not have a fixed income and that he was remorseful of this act.