Experts: Cut off market for stolen cables to cripple syndicates

KUALA LUMPUR: Shutting down the market for stolen cables by zeroing in on unscrupulous scrapyard operators could cripple cable theft syndicates disrupting critical infrastructure nationwide.

Describing cable theft as economic sabotage, senior lawyer Kitson Foong said enforcement must go beyond arresting cable thieves and target scrap metal dealers who knowingly buy stolen cables.

"Every stolen metre of cable has a buyer. Shut the scrapyard door and the thief has nowhere to sell," he told the New Straits Times.

The copper conductor running inside the cable is much sought after. In Malaysia, copper is priced at between RM56 and RM60 per kilogramme.

Foong said Malaysia has enough laws, but the weakness lay in how offenders were charged and sentenced.

Police investigate cable theft cases under Section 431A of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum two years's jail for mischief involving damage to cables.

He said that was hardly a deterrent for syndicates earning up to RM100,000 per operation.

"Syndicates making up to RM100,000 a job are likely to walk away with three or four months' jail time. At that point, it's not a crime anymore, it's looking more like a business model!"

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Foong said prosecutors should bring heavier charges where evidence supported them, including theft under Section 379 of the Penal Code, which carries up to seven years' jail.

Section 235 of the Communications and Multimedia Act provides penalties of up to RM500,000 or five years' jail for offences involving telecommunications infrastructure.

Section 37 of the Electricity Supply Act 1990 provides up to RM1 million in fines or 10 years' imprisonment for dangerous interference with electrical installations.

Repeat offenders could face enhanced punishment under Section 75, while Section 411 of the Penal Code, which deals with dishonestly receiving stolen property, carried up to five years' jail.

"This should be used much more against scrap dealers, and those caught should lose their licence under the Second-hand Dealers Act," he said.

Foong proposed a specific offence for interference with critical infrastructure, carrying mandatory imprisonment and forfeiture of vehicles and criminal proceeds.

He said Section 124K of the Penal Code, on sabotage, could be applied in appropriate cases, but warned against overuse.

"It's a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. Law enforcement should aim it at organised syndicates, not some desperate guy with a hacksaw.

"A cable thief isn't just stealing copper, he's stealing a train's ability to signal safely!

"We're charging saboteurs as if they were pilferers, and that really has to stop."

Senior criminologist Datuk Dr P. Sundramoorthy said enforcement agencies must investigate the entire criminal supply chain, not just those caught stealing.

"Where middlemen or unscrupulous scrap-metal businesses knowingly buy stolen cables, they can help sustain demand and make repeated offending commercially attractive."

Investigations should target organisers, transporters, financiers, middlemen and buyers, while scrap dealers should face tighter safeguards, including seller identification, transaction records and risk-based inspections.

But Sundramoorthy cautioned against assuming that every cable theft involved a syndicate or that all dealers were complicit.

"Disrupting the market for stolen cables may be as important as arresting the people who steal them.

"If stolen material becomes difficult to sell, the financial incentive for offending is reduced."

Sundramoorthy said cable theft should be treated economic sabotage and a serious infrastructure-security problem because its consequences far exceed the value of stolen materials.

"When railway signalling or power cables are cut, train services can be disrupted, passengers may be stranded, and safety systems may be compromised."

He pointed to figures disclosed in Parliament in July showing 393 cable theft incidents involving railway assets since 2024, with estimated losses of RM16.3 million — in railway assets alone.

Sundramoorthy said copper's high resale value, coupled with weak surveillance and accessible locations make cable theft attractive.

He backed plans to review railway-related laws, including raising fines for cable theft and trespassing from RM1,000 to as much as RM100,000 per offence.

But harsher penalties alone would not deter offenders who reckon they will not be caught.

"Deterrence depends not only on the severity of punishment but also on the likelihood of detection, arrest and successful prosecution."

He said punishment should reflect the wider harm — repair costs, service disruptions and risks to public safety — not merely the resale value of stolen cables.

He supported specific aggravated offences for critical infrastructure theft, provided the laws clearly defined offences and ensured proportionate punishment.

Sundramoorthy also called for stronger intelligence-sharing between police, infrastructure operators and regulators, alongside improved CCTV surveillance, access controls and financial investigations.

"Ultimately, harsher punishments alone will not solve cable theft."