By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 5: A Sibu landlord is facing an RM818,474.90 electricity bill allegedly linked to illegal cryptocurrency mining activities carried out by his tenant, prompting Democratic Action Party (DAP) to call on Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) to review its approach in holding property owners liable for electricity theft involving rented premises.
DAP Director of Political Education Irene Mary Chang Oi Ling said the landlord, identified only as Mr Ling, received the demand after SEB detected alleged electricity theft at a property he had rented out in Miri.
According to Chang, the premises had been occupied by the same tenant since April 2021 under valid tenancy agreements, with Mr Ling claiming he was unaware that the property was allegedly being used for illegal cryptocurrency mining or any activity involving unlawful electricity abstraction.
“The premises had been rented to the same tenant since April 2021 under valid tenancy agreements, while Mr Ling claimed he had no knowledge that the property was allegedly being used for illegal cryptocurrency mining or any activity involving unlawful electricity abstraction,” she said in a recent statement.
She said Mr Ling subsequently cooperated with SEB’s investigation after being contacted in September 2025, providing police reports, tenancy agreements and several years of bank statements to demonstrate that the premises had remained under the tenant’s possession throughout the rental period.
Despite his cooperation, she said the landlord’s appeal to waive the liability was rejected. Chang pointed out that there had been no allegation that Mr Ling had participated in, authorised, facilitated or benefited from the alleged electricity theft, yet he was still left responsible for the RM818,474.90 claim.
“The question is whether a landlord should be made financially responsible for an offence allegedly committed by a tenant without the landlord’s knowledge or involvement,” she said.
She argued that the matter raised broader concerns over the extent of landlords’ responsibility once a property has been rented out.
She added the owners generally have limited control over tenants’ activities and cannot enter rented premises freely to inspect electrical installations or investigate suspected unlawful operations.
Beyond the issue of access, Chang highlighted that identifying sophisticated electricity theft, particularly those involving cryptocurrency mining operations, requires technical capabilities and monitoring systems that ordinary property owners do not possess.
“Since SEB owns the electricity meter, it has the technical capability, authority to conduct inspections and access to consumption data needed to detect unusual consumption patterns. It is therefore difficult to understand why landlords should bear the responsibility for electricity theft committed by tenants,” she stressed.
In view of the case, Chang called for stronger safeguards to prevent landlords who have no knowledge of illegal activities on their properties from being burdened with substantial financial claims.
She proposed the introduction of an independent mechanism to exempt or substantially reduce liability for landlords who can prove they were not involved in or aware of the alleged offences, while urging SEB to review its policy on electricity theft involving rented premises.
“Mr Ling had exhausted SEB’s internal appeal process and was prepared to seek a court ruling on whether it was lawful and fair for an innocent landlord to be held liable for alleged electricity theft committed by a tenant,” she said. — DayakDaily
