TAWAU: An undocumented individual was sentenced to imprisonment by the Sessions Court here on Wednesday after pleading guilty to stealing electricity through an illegal connection at a squatter settlement in Semporna.
Abdul Hamid Siddiq was charged under Sections 61(1) and 61(8) of the Electricity Supply Enactment 2024 and was sentenced to 24 months' imprisonment for the first charge and six months for the second charge, with both sentences to run concurrently.
Section 61(1) provides for a fine of up to RM1 million, imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both, while Section 61(8) carries a penalty of a fine of up to RM50,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both.
The prosecution was conducted by Energy Commission of Sabah (Ecos) legal officer Nureen Natasha Mohd Raffie.
Meanwhile, Ecos Chief Executive Officer Datuk Abdul Nasser Abdul Wahid said the case was the third prosecution this year involving illegal electricity connections in squatter areas and the first to result in a custodial sentence, adding that the commission would continue joint enforcement operations with Sabah Electricity and other agencies against such offences.
