Yesterday, June 22,
the Humansdorp Magistrate Court convicted and sentenced two cable thieves to 15
years direct imprisonment for damaging essential infrastructure – a first for
the region.
A case of damage to
essential infrastructure was registered at the Jeffreys Bay Police Station,
after Kouga Municipality’s law enforcement team, in conjunction with Kouga’s
electrical department and SAPS, confiscated about 60m of stolen electrical
cables at the Pellsrus Caravan Park last year.
During the
investigation it was established that the copper cables were stolen from Kouga
Municipality.
Three suspects were
arrested, after which one suspect was acquitted.
“Kouga Municipality
welcomes the harsh sentencing of the cable thieves as cable theft has a huge
negative impact on service delivery,” said Kouga Executive Mayor, Horatio
Hendricks.
“As a municipality,
we will do everything in our power to ensure that anyone who damages our
infrastructure vandalism will be held accountable.”
“Any person who
unlawfully and intentionally tampers with, damages, or destroys essential
infrastructure – relating to energy, transport, water, sanitation, and
communication – is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a period of
30 years imprisonment or a fine of up to R100 million.”
This is according
to the Criminal Matters Amendment Act, 2015.
Hendricks expressed
his gratitude to the municipality’s law enforcement team who are doing
exceptional work in the community.
“Every officer
should be lauded for their selfless dedication to the communities they serve
and their commitment to making these areas safer,” he said.
