MIRI: Two men have been sentenced to six months’ jail each for stealing electricity to power cryptocurrency mining operations.
Sim Khiok Leng, 62, changed his plea to guilty during case management at the Sessions Court on Tuesday (Aug 5), where he was charged under Section 33(5) of the Electricity Ordinance (Chapter 50).
According to the facts of the case, Sim and an unnamed woman had rented a commercial unit at Eastwood Valley Industrial Park for mining cryptocurrency.
During an inspection by the Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation (Sesco) on Dec 16 last year, officers discovered 29 cryptocurrency mining machines connected directly to the main wiring, bypassing the electricity meter.
Deputy public prosecutor Ronald Felix Hardin told the court that Sim had been held at Lambir Prison since June 26 after breaching bail conditions.
Taking into account Sim’s age and health, the court ordered his six-month sentence to begin from that date.
In a separate case, Hii King Lee, 49, also changed his plea to guilty after discharging his lawyer.
He had rented a house at Jalan Jati 2D, Taman Desa Senadin, since November last year. On Dec 17, Sesco officers, acting on intelligence, found five mining machines at the property running on illegally tapped electricity.
Hii is already serving two six-month sentences for similar offences in Miri and Siburan, handed down in July.
Judge Afidah Abdul Rahman sentenced him to another six months, effective immediately.
All the seized mining equipment has been ordered forfeited to Sesco for disposal.
The proceedings were attended by enforcement officers from the Sarawak Utility and Telecommunication Ministry and Sesco’s Investigation Unit.
