Metals thieves hit Malaysian utilities

As prices for metal soar, utility companies have been hit hard with thieves stealing the material worth over RM74mil in the past four years. At the top of the list of those affected is TM Bhd, with losses amounting to RM10.6mil last year, followed by Indah Water Konsortium (RM6.3mil) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (RM5mil).

A TM source said thieves did not just steal copper cables. "They have even carted away entire metal telephone poles," the source said. Most thefts took place in remote areas, including in jungles and estates. IWK communications head Amin Lin Abdullah said theft of equipment meant more than merely the cost of replacing the stolen items. "They have caused major disruption to sewage treatment processes in our plants," he said, adding that repairs could take up to a month depending on the extent of damage.

TNB media relations head Sidek Kamiso said utility companies were often targeted because scrap metal dealers readily accepted those items and pay good money for them. "Copper can be sold for as much as RM14 per kg and aluminium at RM7 per kg. Thieves have been known to cart off about 15kg of metal at a time but in some cases, transformers weighing several tonnes have also gone missing," he said. He added that a RM2mil transformer could be sold to a scrap yard for about RM250,000.

With the thefts becoming more rampant each year, utility companies have had to come up with various measures to safeguard their equipment, such as round-the-clock-surveillance, replacing wire fences around TNB sub-stations with concrete walls, and welding metal covers to their bases. Amin said new manhole covers were now fastened to the ground with locks while concrete walls had been built to replace barbed wire fencing around properties.

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