| – reportedly assaulted a female at his homePopular events promoter Colin Mack has found himself in hot water once more, this time he was arrested at around 08:00 hrs yesterday at his South Ruimveldt residence after assaulting a woman.Reports reaching Kaieteur News stated that the police swooped down at the man’s residence after receiving a call from neighbours about a disturbance at his residence.According to sources, the police had to break down the man’s front door to gain access into the house.The source further told this publication that once the police were inside, the officers quickly observed a female who was covered in blood.The woman who is said to be in her late 20’s was taken to the Georgetown Hospital for medical treatment.Mack was taken into custody and up to press time, he was still being detained at the Brickdam Police Station.Hospital sources yesterday told Kaieteur News that when the doctors started questioning the woman, she simply told them she was in an accident.“All she is telling the doctors is that she was in an accident….even though her injuries do not add up with an accident” said the source.The embattled promoter was last year charged with rape and had been committed to stand trial in the High Court, after a prima facie case was made out against him.Mack is presently on $250,000 bail, which was granted in the High Court.************************GPL may get more clout to stop ‘electricity thieves’Illegal connections, meter tampering and electricity theft have long been an issue but new legislation will soon give electric utility providers more clout in the fight against ‘electricity thieves’.The Public Electricity Supply (Amendment) Regulations of 2010, tabled by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds will see a number of changes being made to the Third Schedule of the Electricity Sector Reform Act of 1999,Curry 2 Shoes For Sale, if it is passed after being debated in the National Assembly later today.Electricity that is used, wasted or otherwise diverted at a consumer’s premises but has not been paid for; meter tampering or illegal connections and the unauthorised reconnection of electric power to a premises, have all been included in the amendment. The discovery of any of these situations on a consumer’s property gives an electricity supplier the right to disconnect the consumer’s service and to move towards recovering costs incurred by the consumer as well as any property damage that may have occurred. The consumer may also face criminal charges for their actions.According to Bharat Dindyal,White NFL Jerseys Cheap, CEO of Guyana Power and Light (GPL),Nike Air Max Herren G��nstig, the company sees losses of almost $3B per year as a result of illegal connections and electricity theft.He noted that the Amendment gives specificity to those conditions which can be considered in a court of law as conclusive evidence of meter tampering and illegal use of electricity. It will, he noted, work towards overcoming the current difficulties the company has been experiencing in proving the guilt of offenders in court.The Amendment presents a plethora of conditions that can be used as evidence in the prosecution of a consumer who has been using electricity in a manner considered unlawful or is in violation of the Electricity Sector Reform Act.According to the Amendment,China Football Jerseys Cheap, the visual record of the evidence may be “made by any means,Asics Kayano 23 Homme, including eyewitness statements, videotape and photographs … by the Police or by Personnel of a public supplier”.One of the conditions that can be considered as evidence may be the use of electricity without evidence of a “legal connection to the public supplier’s electric lines or other works”. Another is if the company discovers that there are differences in consumption between the “main lead to the premises and at the premises itself” the consumer could face charges.Missing, broken, dislodged or unsecured official seals from the Guyana National Bureau of Standards or the electricity supplier can also constitute evidence against a consumer. Dindyal pointed out however that the regular law abiding consumer needs not worry that a seal which has been dislodged by the elements will get them into trouble. Instead,Curry 1 Lux Mid Leather, the seals referred to in the amendment are internal seals that prevent access to the metering mechanism; they are therefore protected from the elements and provide a clear indication of tampering.Another trick that the fraudsters use to avoid paying the correct charges to the electricity company, is to disrupt the disc that spins within the meter, measuring out the number of units of power used.The Amendment goes into detail on the possible perturbations of the disc in the meter or its casing that can get a consumer into trouble. These include the discovery of screwdriver impressions, expanded screw slits, reset meter dials and adjustments of the upper and lower bearings of the disc, allowing it to touch the range or dial plate. The list continues with other means of obstructing the rotation of the disc such as the “insertion of particles between the cyclometer wheels in a meter that obstructs the rotation (recording)”.”Internal and external linking of terminals of the meter line and load terminals” and “any unauthorised connection within the meter that prevents the proper registration of electricity use by the meter” were also listed as evidence.There were also provisions to cater for the unauthorised removal of a meter or load line from one premises and reinstallation elsewhere as well as the lack of certification from the supplier authorising reconnection in the case of a disconnected customer.Also included in the amendment are provisions that allow suppliers to recover the costs of damaged property such as meters as well as consumed electricity “for a back-billing period of twelve months”. Electricity suppliers will also be allowed to recover costs regardless of whether or not the consumer is convicted of an offence.According to Dindyal, the Amendments will hopefully force people to stop and think before they steal electricity or vandalise meters because they will see that there are very real consequences to their actions. |
