Kota Kinabalu: A 46-year-old man was fined a total of RM25,000 for two offences involving an illegal electricity connection and unauthorised electrical wiring at business premises.
Mahadi Santa, 46, pleaded guilty before Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan to the two charges against him.
On the first count, Mahadi was fined RM20,000, or six months’ jail in default, for dishonestly abstracting electricity by making a direct bypass connection from the busbar isolator switch box without passing through the Sabah Electricity (SE) meter.
The illegal connection supplied electricity through distribution boards to offices and rented rooms on the upper floor, as well as several vending machines on the ground floor, resulting in SE being undercharged and suffering financial losses.
Mahadi committed the offence at 3pm on July 30, 2025, at Heritage Trade and Services, Lorong Plaza Utama 1, Alamesra Plaza Utama, Sulaman Coastal Highway, near here.
The offence under Subsection 61(3)(a) of the Electricity Supply Enactment 2024 carries a fine of between RM20,000 and RM1 million, or imprisonment of up to five years, or both, upon conviction.
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On the second charge, Mahadi was fined a further RM5,000, or three months’ jail in default, for installing electrical wiring connected to the existing electrical system at the same premises without obtaining written approval from SE at the same place and time.
During mitigation, Mahadi, through his counsel, appealed for a lenient sentence.
However, prosecuting officer Andryeno Thomas of the Sabah Energy Commission urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, submitting that electricity theft is a serious offence as it causes financial losses to the electricity licensee and ultimately affects honest consumers.
He submitted that the offence was committed deliberately for personal gain and undermined the integrity of the electricity supply system.
As such, Andryeno urged the court to impose a sentence that reflected the seriousness of the offence and served as a deterrent to the accused and the public.
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