An engineer alerted the local police to apprehend a man who was cutting power cables in the middle of a Nonthaburi highway, casting parts of it into darkness over a distance of more than 2 kilometres. At around 3.45pm yesterday, the young man, identified as 30 year old Chotipong, was caught red-handed along with the snipped aluminium power cables stretching 50 metres, cable-cutting equipment, and the vehicle he used in the operation.

 

Arthaporn Prakot, an engineer who works for Nonthaburi’s highway department, stated that frequent power outages had been occurring on several roads. Upon investigation, it was found that the theft and sale of power cables were causing these issues, creating inconvenience and raising the chances of accidents. The light outage spanned approximately 2 kilometres along the highway due to this incident.

 

The thief managed to avoid being electrocuted during the act because the lighting system is automated centithief – meaning power is dispersed along the cables as the system determines it is growing dark. During midday, electricity is not released, which is when Chotipong chose to cut the cables, reported KhaoSod.

 

The Royal Thai Highway Department calculated that for the year 2023, public property theft including power cables, electricity transformers, and other traffic signal equipment, amounted to a staggering loss of more than 30 million baht (US$852,043).

 

By Nattapong Westwood

Caption: Picture courtesy of KhaoSod

 

Full Story: https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/crime/roadside-cable-thief-snared-causing-parts-of-nonthaburi-highway-to-plunge-into-darkness

 

-- © Copyright Thaiger 2023-06-23

 

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7 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The thief managed to avoid being electrocuted during the act because the lighting system is automated centithief

<<<< Comments trolling about Trump edited out >>>>

 

Anyway, maybe they should make him a nice chair, wired with the cables he stole, connected to that centrally controlled system and live stream what happens with power line thieves when it gets dark...

Edited June 23, 20233 yr by metisdead

The cops should go after the unscrupulous businesses buying the stolen products as well... 

When I built an extra carport on my property we had to run wires from the meter to the carport along the front road side.  The contractor strongly suggested using aluminum wiring instead of copper because someone would probably steal it.

No one knows who buys all this stuff. Why steal traffic lights? 

27 minutes ago, Purdey said:

No one knows who buys all this stuff. Why steal traffic lights? 

Opportunity knocks... can you imagine turning up at your local pawn-shop or scrap merchant and saying "I've got a transformer for sale"?

Edited June 24, 20233 yr by hotchilli

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Opportunity knocks... can you imagine turning up at your local pawn-shop or scrap merchant and saying "I've got a transformer for sale"?

Yep he'd say ''how much you want'' TIT

 

Edited June 24, 20233 yr by brianthainess

9 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Yep he'd say ''how much you want'' TIT

How many more can you "find"