For more than two years, a pipe at the Datin Halimah homestay in Sentul was hijacked and had water siphoned from it, but Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) could only stand back and watch, as the pipe was on private property.
The water supply company was unable to to do much, even as Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya were plunged into months of water rationing during the recent dry season. From the Datin Halimah homestay site alone, the losses due to theft amounted to RM156,000, or 68,400 cubic metres of water.
“Syabas has urged the public to be more responsible and cooperate by helping to curb water losses for future use and do not waste water unnecessarily as water is a precious commodity,” The Malay Mail Online quoted Syabas corporate communications and public affairs deputy general manager Priscilla Alfred.
She added that the homestay had, in another location, also made an illegal connection to the water mains. The illegal connection was made using a 25mm high density polyethylene pipe.
Alfred also said that from Janury 1 to May 9 of this year, Syabas had recorded 1,271 complaints of water theft, of which 96 cases were confirmed and had been acted on.
“Each year, RM5 million is lost due to water theft,” she said.
Photo: Raak Ghazali / The Malay Mail
