Free State farmer convicted for tampering with Eskom electricity meter

A Free State farmer has been sentenced to five years' imprisonment for interfering with an Eskom electricity meter allocated to his farm. 

Sixty-three-year-old Willem Christiaan Venter was served with a court summons on March 20 by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit after it was alleged that he had interfered with the meter, resulting in Eskom losing about R750,000, which his electricity bill would have amounted to.

“He faced four counts of malicious damage to property in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, of which he was found guilty as charged. Following a plea bargain, the Petrusburg magistrate’s court has ordered that Venter pay back Eskom the R750,000.

“The five years' imprisonment has been wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not found guilty of any similar offences,” said police spokesperson warrant officer Lynda Steyn.

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