KOTA KINABALU: A mini mart operator is the latest person to be charged and fined for power theft in Sabah, on Oct 13.
Mohd Arif Koh Kean Lin, who runs a mini market in Keningau district, was ordered to pay RM30,000 after pleading guilty to two charges of illegal power connection at his premises in Kg Taurid Taud, at the Keningau Sessions Court.
For the first offence, he was fined RM20,000 for illegally connecting power by installing an overriding cable at the cut-out fuse which was connected to the premise's cold storage room distribution board.
He was fined RM10,000 for the second offence for installing overriding wiring from the Sabah Electricity service line to the existing wiring system without written approval.
This is among the RM2.23mil of fines imposed following operations by the Energy Commission of Sabah (Ecos) since 2024 up to October 2026.
According to Ecos CEO Datuk Abdul Nasser Abdul Wahid, this amount involves 81 charge records with 50 of them reported between January and Oct 16, 2026.
"For 2026 alone, we have recorded over RM1.6mil in fines, compared with eight cases with 160,000 in fines in 2024 and 23 charges with RM465,000 in fines in 2025," he said.
He said a total of 41 cases are in the process of charging while 33 cases are awaiting compound.
Abdul Nasser said the losses incurred by Sabah Electricity due to all these cases amounts to around RM9.49mil.
He said these losses show much monetary implications there are from power thefts and meter tampering, adding that the Ecos will continue to take stern action against such crimes.
He said among the highest fine issued was RM635,000 towards one Asis Cengkuru in Sandakan on July 9, 2026, for illegal power connection.
The accused was jailed eight months as he failed to pay the fine and will be referred to the Immigration Department for further action after completing his prison sentence.
"We also had six illegal connection cases involving illegal immigrants and an IMM13 (Filipino refugee) holder. All will be referred to Immigration later on," said Abdul Nasser.
He warned the public against using electricity supply without permission and payment while reminding that such actions violate the law.
There are also safety concerns over such irresponsible actions, he said.
