KEY POINTS
- Two offenders received a total combined sentence of 25 years due to their vandalism of Centlec facilities.
- Theft of panels costing R500,000 resulted in total damage amounting to R2.5 million.
- The court system shows dedication toward dealing with crimes against infrastructure through its sentencing decisions.
A Free State court gave each of two men a 25-year prison term after they stole and destroyed key power systems within Mangaung.
The Bloemfontein Regional Court sentenced Tumisang Sello Khosi (31) and Pitso Donald Molalenyane (34) on April 14 for their offenses of stealing and destroying Centlec property.
The investigative team confirmed that Khosi together with Molalenyane stole electrical panels amounting to R500,000 during their illegal entry into a Centlec substation.
The two men Khosi and Molalenyane committed the unlawful act of entering Centlec’s substation in November 2022 to steal electrical panels which totaled R500,000. These criminals caused total breakdowns to infrastructure facilities worth R2.5 million.
The authorities apprehended them when they arrested them with stolen electrical panels in their custody.
Investigation and conviction led to duo sentenced
The investigation of the case fell to Sergeant Ratiba while prosecutor Amore Coetzee of the National Prosecuting Authority conducted the prosecution.
A court sentenced Khosi along with Molalenyane to spend 30 years in prison by adding a fifteen-year term for each of the two criminal offenses they committed.
Since the court authorized the second count’s five-year term to overlap with the first count the defendants received total 25-year prison sentences for each charge, theft led to the Duo sentenced.
