KOTA KINABALU: Illegal installation of electric poles, bypass connections and meter tampering are among the offences recorded by the Energy Commission of Sabah from January to March this year.
According to the commission, on Saturday (March 14), these were among 19 charges, with fines amounting to RM190,000, that were prosecuted in Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu under the Electric Supply Enactment 2024.
It said that of these cases, 10 were charged in Sandakan and nine in Kota Kinabalu.
For cases at the Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court, five involved a company that installed fibre optic concrete poles near a high-voltage electricity pole without permission from Sabah Electricity, the legal owner.
This resulted in an accident that caused permanent injuries to one of its workers, and the company was fined RM11,000.
Another company was fined RM20,000 for illegal bypass works and RM5,000 for illegal wiring, both carried out without permission from Sabah Electricity.
Three ongoing cases involving an individual and two companies were granted bail amounts of between RM5,000 and RM20,000, pending the remention of their cases on April 10, April 14 and April 23, respectively.
In another incident, a furniture company pleaded guilty to power theft and was fined RM25,000.
In Sandakan, four premises under one company were fined between RM8,000 and RM20,000 for nine cases of meter tampering, among other offences, bringing their total fines to RM92,000.
Other offenders included a homeowner who was fined RM5,000 and RM7,000 for two offences, while a club owner was fined RM25,000 for power theft.
All proceedings were conducted by the council’s prosecuting counsel Andryeno Thomas, and all fines and bail were paid by the offenders.
