KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) lodged a police report over concerns of power abuse or corruption, which may have led to the excessive electricity charges involving villagers in Kota Belud district.
SESB chief executive officer Mohd Yaakob Jaafar said there was a recent case involving villagers in Kampung Kulambai, Kampung Kuala Abai and Kampung Kulambai Dundau, whereby the electric bill of some of them came up to thousands of Ringgit.
"We lodged a police report on this matter on Wednesday (Sept 13), as we worry that there might be abuse of power or crime committed by certain quarters over this case," he said in a statement.
Yaakob said SESB was also conducting an internal probe into the cause of the billing and to prevent future incidents.
He said they were considering involving the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
"SESB will not compromise with anyone, including our own staff and officials, if they are found to have committed any crime that led to a leakage of power supply that, in the end, burdened customers," he said.
Yaakob said it was the priority of SESB to ensure a stable and quality power supply to its customers and to make sure that bills were charged accordingly.
"We welcome any information on this case and any suggestions to improve our services," he added.
Late last month, residents from these villages told the media about the excessive electricity bills.
They claimed that SESB officials had met with them and acknowledged the possibility of abuse or mistake in the issuance of electric bills on SESB’s part.
The villagers claimed the SESB officials urged them to settle their bills promptly.
They have also lodged their own police reports.
Sabah West Coast Smart Consumers Association president David Chan urged the SESB to thoroughly probe this matter as it involves many households.
He said if there was a misreading of meter from SESB personnel, the fault should not be borne by villagers who cannot afford to pay such high bills.
