Enemalta condemns ‘cowardly’ assault against smart meter inspection team

Enemalta plc condemned a recent assault on two Enemalta officials and a policeman who had been sent to investigate the electricity meter of a confectionary in Pieta.

“We strongly denounce this violence against our employees,” Enemalta executive chairman Fredrick Azzopardi said. “Stealing electricity is a very serious crime- trying to hide this abuse by resorting to violence is a cowardly act which cannot be tolerated. Enemalta urges the authorities to send a clear message that such behaviour is unacceptable.”

On Friday, two Enemalta officials were sent to investigate the smart meter of a confectionary in Pieta that they believed had been tampered with.  The confectionary’s owner Fabrizio Salerno and his father Carmel reportedly assaulted the policeman and the Enemalta officials so as to halt their investigations. One of the Enemalta officials was left with a broken arm and fingers.

The father and son have since been charged with breaching the peace, impeding public officers in their duties, threatening the policeman and the Enemalta official, and swearing in public. The father has also been charged with slightly injuring the policeman and relapsing.

Enemalta said that the suspected irregularities in the confectionary’s smart meter have been confirmed, and that all details have been handed over to the police for further investigation.

“We commend the team of employees who are working diligently and tirelessly to clamp down on electricity theft,” Azzopardi said. “In 2014, the efforts of these workers led to unprecedented results – in one year, Enemalta cut down electricity theft losses by 33%. It carried out over 800 inspections, identifying and stopping over 500 cases of electricity theft.”