Kota Kinabalu: A company was fined a total of RM25,000 by the Sessions Court here on two counts of tampering with an electricity meter and obstructing it from accurately recording electricity consumption.
Kemas Handal Sdn Bhd, represented by its company representative, pleaded guilty before Sessions Court Judge Hurman Hussain to both charges.
On the first count, the company was fined RM20,000 for dishonestly obstructing a meter belonging to Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd from properly recording electricity consumption by disconnecting the blue phase current circuit in the meter.
The offence was committed at 12.50pm on July 30, 2025, at a premises on the Ground Floor, Block 39, Jalan Kampung Air 1, Rumah Kedai Kampung Air, Jalan Sentosa, here.
The charge under Section 61(3)(e) of the Electricity Supply Enactment 2024 is punishable under Section 61(3)(ii) of the same Enactment, which provides for a fine between RM20,000 and RM1 million, a jail term of up to five years, or both.
On the second count, the company was fined RM5,000 for damaging the meter by disconnecting the blue phase circuit, causing it to fail to record electricity consumption.
The offence, committed at the same place and time, is punishable under Section 61(9) of the Electricity Supply Enactment 2024, which provides for a fine of up to RM100,000, imprisonment of up to two years, or both, on conviction.
Sabah Energy Commission (ECOS) prosecuting officer Andryeno Thomas told the court that on July 30, 2025, enforcement officers from ECOS and Sabah Electricity conducted an operation at the premises.
Inspection of the three-phase electricity meter found several irregularities, including missing security seals, torn Sabah Electricity security stickers on the cut-out fuses for the red, yellow and blue phases, damaged security seals and stickers on the neutral link, and a torn security sticker on the meter battery cover.
Further technical inspection revealed a discrepancy between the electrical current readings before the cut-out fuse and those displayed on the meter.
The current reading for the blue phase before the cut-out fuse was 14.81 amperes, while the meter displayed 0.00 amperes for the same phase.
Inspection of the meter’s internal components found that the blue phase current cable had been disconnected from the terminal board, preventing the meter from recording electricity usage for that phase.
An accuracy test also found the meter was operating abnormally, recording an average slow accuracy rate of minus 60.686 per cent, whereas a normal meter should record within a margin of less than two per cent.
As a result of the tampering, the meter failed to accurately record electricity consumption, causing Sabah Electricity estimated revenue losses of RM37,510.10 between April 6, 2021 and July 30, 2025, excluding operational costs.
Investigations found that the premises were used by Kemas Handal Sdn Bhd to operate a moneylending business and that the electricity supply was used for commercial purposes.
Counsel Jul Hamri Jumhani represented the company.