‘Never ending fight’ to stop power theft – SESB

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The sewerage plant where the illegal power cable connection was made to supply electricity to a nearby squatter colony.

The sewerage plant where the illegal power cable connection was made to supply electricity to a nearby squatter colony.

SANDAKAN: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) said it is facing a never ending fight when it comes to putting an end to illegal electricity connections.

Commenting on the Monday incident where a fireman was electrocuted by a hidden power cable when putting out a bush fire here, SESB senior general manager (asset management) Muhamad Nazri Pazil said in a statement yesterday that even if the technicians removed the illegal wires being set up, it would only take a very short time for irresponsible parties to set up the illegal wire connections again.

“With limitations from existing laws and provisions, plus SESB’s limited enforcement power, SESB needs help from other government agencies to stop illegal electricity connections,” he stated.

Fireman Apolos Jeremos, 25, lost his life when putting out a bushfire at Taman Kenari, Mile 7 here, last Monday, when he accidentally made contact with a burnt and exposed live wire which was hidden in the bushes.

“It was an unfortunate incident and we share his family’s grief,” Nazri stated.

Nazri said the wires were connected without proper and safe settings from a sewerage plant in the area to source electricity supply for a squatters area near the plant.

“Currently, we have shut down power supplies and the illegal wires have been confiscated.

“Mile 7 here is a hot spot and had been our focus for power disconnection operations for a long time. I ask for the other government agencies to get involved and fight this dangerous and irresponsible act together, especially in squatter areas,” he said.

Meanwhile, the bushfire at Taman Kenari Mile 7, was put out by the firefighters on duty last Monday from 4pm until around midnight. However, the bushes caught fire again yesterday at around 11am until 3pm.

A local, Azman Shah, whose house is located about ten feet away from the bushes, said he had been living in the area for seven years, and this was the first time that the area had caught fire.

“The bushes are very dry and it is obvious that the fire had started due to the hot weather. However, we do not know how long we need to keep watch as the bushes could catch fire anytime.

“We used our own house pipe water to put out the fire, but the area is quite big so we called in the fire and rescue team and they watered the bushes until there was no more smoke.

“However, this only lasted for a few hours until the bushes caught fire again,” he said yesterday.

Azman said the situation posed danger to the residents living in the area as the smoke and fire could get worse and affect their houses.

“The residents in my row of terrace houses could not sleep at night as we constantly worry about the situation. The fire and rescue team has been very helpful and responded to our call immediately. However, the dangerous situation at the bushes needs to stop,” he said.

Commenting on the fireman who lost his life during the operation, Azman said the residents in the housing area were shocked as they were not aware of any squatter houses in the area.

“I hope the authorities would take action on this matter immediately as the residents here are very worried; we do not dare to walk around the bushes area, fearing that we may step on electrical wires,” he stated.