TAWAU: Almost every household at Kampung Hidayat Batu 4 here is tapping illegal electricity connections.
This was disclosed by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) chairman Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau when he made a visit to the village with Tawau member of parliament Lo Su Fui and SESB chief executive officer Mohd Yaakob Jaafar.
The visit was supposed to assess the suitability of the implementation of the Independent Power Distributor (IPD).
He said that illegal connections cause significant losses to SESB besides posing a threat to public safety.
"However, while on location, we observed blatant illegal connections in nearly every house.
"We take this criminal act seriously, and a police report was lodged at the Bombalai police station earlier today," he said in a statement.
Madius, who is also former deputy chief minister, said as a result of theft in the village, SESB incurs a loss of RM183,156 per month.
Every year, SESB loses about RM200 million as a result of electricity theft.
He also said that such criminal activities can lead to the risk of fires and electric shocks to the public.
"I also urge the public who witness such criminal acts anywhere to come forward and file a police report.
"Electricity theft is one of the factors causing disruptions to the power supply in Sabah. Let us all work together to eradicate this crime," he added.
Earlier this month, Sabah police commissioner Datuk Jauteh Dikun said that there are 538 squatter colonies in the state.
It is also learned that Sabah State Steering Committee on squatter issue, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister cum Local Government and Housing minister Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam, had held a meeting today.