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Eight persons arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court last Saturday, have been convicted and fined for illegally connecting electricity to their homes and business outfits. They were sentenced on their own plea of being guilty of connecting power illegally and theft of power. They were fined a total of GH₵8,160 and were to pay their fines before 2 pm that day, or risked being placed in police custody until Monday. In addition, they were charged a total of GH₵1,800 as compensation to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). A total of GH₵10,738.31 was recouped by the ECG from the accused persons by the close of last Saturday. The presiding judge, Mr Worlanyo Kotoku, warned them that for the charge of stealing, they were supposed to be given custodial sentences but had been lenient in the hope that they would go and �sin no more�. He, however, warned that per the leniency he had granted the accused persons, if any of them faulted in the directions of the court, he might have no other option than to commit them for custodial sentences. No mercy for power thieves In an interview with the Daily Graphic after the court proceedings, the manager in charge of prosecutions at the ECG, Mr Paul Assibi Abariga who represented the state, said the ECG was committed to ridding the nation of people who had made it their business to cheat the taxpayer by illegally connecting power. He warned that the exercise, which is national in character, would not spare anyone caught for power theft. �It is unfair that while a good number of Ghanaians are faithfully paying for what they consume, others decide to cheat the system. That is unpatriotism. The right action would be taken in ensuring that the right things are done in order to safeguard power efficiency for all,� he said. The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in collaboration with the security agencies, commenced a special national exercise from Saturday, August 1, 2015, aimed at clamping down on persons who had connected power illegally. The exercise involved visits to all customers of the company to ascertain the nature of their electricity connection and the state of electricity metres. The Managing Director of the company, Mr Robert Dwamena had said that the move had been occasioned by wanton theft of power on the part of some unscrupulous elements that undermined the revenue drive of the company. He said in spite of existence of loss control outfits in the company, the theft of power was now becoming �overwhelmingly high�. Cable theft In another development, a Tema-based businessman, Reagan Danso Apenteng is standing trial for allegedly stealing four drums of underground cables of the ECG valued at GH₵120,835.26. He has pleaded not guilty. A Police investigator, Chief Inspector William Ayariga testifying, told the court presided over by Mr Worlanyo Kotoku that the accused person had attempted bribing the police with GH₵7,000 to influence the case. The Police, he said, took the money and used it as evidence against him. The money, has, since been tendered to the court as evidence and the case adjourned to October 10, 2015.