SHAH ALAM – Theft involving telecommunication companies which sees stealing of cables and components in substations increases by 148 per cent compared to last year.
Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said a total of 156 cases involving stolen cables and devices of telcos and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) were recorded first half of the year compared to 63 cases recorded within the same period last year.
"It is a tremendous increase and probably occurred because people are desperate.
"Areas with an increase of such cases are Subang Jaya, Gombak, South Klang, Sungai Buloh and Kuala Selangor,” he said.
Hussein added police believed that these crimes were committed by individuals in small groups of two to three that moved around and stole when there were opportunities to do so.
"When there are no people around, they take the opportunity to steal the cables, burn the control box, and steal some iron metals and other components,” he said.
He added the loss value was probably not much, but these perpetrators were desperate and only wanted quick cash.
"However, the damage and all losses to the companies are huge because not only were they done towards certain components or the whole control box but they also jeopardise the company’s service to the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, he added that the overall crime for the last six months had slightly increased. However, the increment was still lower compared to previous years.
He predicted that the crime rate would increase further towards the end of the year but the trend is still declining compared to the last five years.