Copper wires worth more than R150 000 were recently discovered
by a police official in a bakkie outside the Post Office in Addo.
According to police spokesperson, Capt. Mali Govender, the
police member was on foot patrol to the Post Office when he noticed four males
standing around a bakkie. When the men saw him, they all started to run. The
member went to the vehicle and noticed four 50kg bags with something inside. After
opening the bags, he found pieces of copper wire that were already cut and
removed from their casings.
“The neighbouring stations were checked to establish whether
there were any cases of copper theft opened and a response was received from
Kirkwood, as two farmers had reported that Eskom cables were stolen from their
farms. Eskom was also contacted and the cables were identified as belonging to
Eskom,” Govender explained.
“The value of the cables, along with the damage caused, is
estimated to be over R200 000.
Acting District Commissioner for the Sarah Baartman District,
commended the vigilance of the member and said that the community needs to be
mindful of the fact that there are fatal risks involved when cables are stolen.
“In the past, people have been electrocuted while removing live cables. The
destruction of these cables can also be a criminal offence: damage of essential
infrastructure,” he added.
In terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, offences relating to
essential infrastructure 3, any person who unlawfully and intentionally (a)
tampers with, damages or destroys essential infrastructure; or (b) colludes
with or assists another person in the commission, performance or carrying out
of an activity referred to in paragraph (a), and who knows or ought reasonably
to have known that it is essential infrastructure, is guilty of an offence and
liable on conviction to a period of imprisonment not exceeding 30 years.
Source SAPS media statement
