Directors fined for power theft

TANGERANG: State electricity company PLN fined on Monday two directors of Cikokol vegetable market here Rp 72 million and Rp 32 million respectively for organizing power theft for electricity distribution to hundreds of vendors at the market.

The two directors, H. Memet and H. Rokum, arrested by police on Thursday, had been committing the crimes since February, said Aryanto, an assistant manager at PLN's Cikokol service unit, Tangerang branch.

"They have paid Rp 7 million and Rp 3 million respectively as a down payment on the total fine, and they have to pay the remainder in 10 installments," he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

PLN found that Kinong, a PLN employee who was also arrested by the police, was not involved in the crime.

Aryanto said the Memet and Rokum were trusted by PLN in February to manage the distribution of 33,000 volts and 22,000 volts respectively to the market vendors. However, a joint operation carried out since June 13 by PLN and the police into power theft found that the two had tampered with the meter at an electricity relay station.

PLN also fined Hendrik, a resident, Rp 12 million for installing a power network serving 15 squatter homes on the Cisadane riverbank, Cikokol subdistrict. --JP