Law turns screws on arsonists, thieves
Criminals or companies involved in the theft or serious damage to infrastructure face up to 30 years in jail and fines of up to R100m.
|||Cape Town - From Wednesday individual criminals or companies involved in the theft or serious damage to infrastructure face up to 30 years in jail and fines of up to R100 million.
Metrorail and the City of Cape Town were among the organisations that this morning welcomed the introduction of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act, which ensures mandatory jail sentences for those found guilty of tampering and damaging both state and private infrastructure.
A recent spate of arson attacks on passenger railway service Metrorail in the city saw at least 30 carriages damaged since last October, costing up to R200 million.
Metrorail’s regional manager Richard Walker said: “We look forward to successful arrests, denial of bail and hefty sentences to eradicate copper theft and arson within the rail system.”
Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith said: “We catch the same offenders over and over and they just get a slap on the wrist.
“The Amendment Act now establishes serious penalties for a crime that is busy destroying South Africa’s infrastructure and is becoming a bigger and bigger menace internationally.”
As the law officially comes into effect, it will also make it harder for offenders of such crimes to get bail as it requires a court to decide on bail and not the police.
Minimum sentences are three years for first offenders, five years for second offenders and seven years for third-time offenders.
Cases involving organised crime get heavier minimum sentences, ranging from 15 years for first offenders to 25 years for repeaters.
Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe estimates that the country loses between R5 billion and R6bn every year due to cable theft. Telkom spokeswoman Leigh-Ann Francis said that there were more than 6000 incidents of cable theft across Telkom’s network reported in the past year. In the 2015 financial year, Telkom lost R100m to cable theft repair costs, she said.
Cape Argus