$70,000 Worth Of Copper Cables Stolen; Two Suspects Held

Bandar Seri Begawan - Police have arrested two local men suspected of stealing $70,000 worth of copper cables earlier this month.

After going through a week of remand, the two were brought to court on Tuesday and sentenced to nine months in jail and two strokes of the cane for damage to government property.

They were caught after information from the public led to the uncovering of the car used to steal the cables belonging to TelBru in Kpg Kasat, according to a police report.

The car was discovered behind bushes and police found 23 cuts of the stolen cables in the boot of the car.

According to the police, the cable pieces measured 0.64mm in diameter each and was intended to be sold to a scrap metal dealer in the capital for $7.00 per kg.

The report stated that damage to the government amounted up to $70,000, although the thieves were estimated to earn only $5,499 from the sale.

According to the police statement, a similar case was recently solved, where five men were detained and brought to court for a series of thefts that occurred in the Kg Ayer district in mid-March. The thefts also involved phone cables owned by TelBru. The arrests were made by the Kg Ayer District Police with help from the Bandar District Police.

All five suspects were brought to court and sentenced to nine months in jail and two strokes of-the cane each.

According to police statements, cable thefts, especially phone cables, have been on the rise recently as have been reported by TelBru.

Prior to this, reports have been received by the authorities from the Department of Electrical Services regarding thefts of electrical copper cables.

With the rise in cases, the police are once again reminding all scrap metal dealers not to purchase cables from sellers who are suspected of not being the authorised dealers.

The police advised the public and scrap metal dealers that purchasing and selling of these copper cables without proper authorisation is a crime and will lead to an investigation and possibly incarceration of both the buyer and seller. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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