Sunyani, Jan. 24, GNA - A circuit court at Fiapre, near Sunyani has sentenced 22 customers of the Volta River Authority (VRA) to a total fine of 55 million cedis for tampering with the company's metres and engaging in illegal connections making the company to lose more than 44 million cedis.

All the accused persons pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing and were sentenced to fines of 2.5 million cedis each or in default serve 12 months imprisonment each.

Mr Owusu Gyamfi, the presiding judge, in sentencing the accused persons said they should have been given custodial punishment to deter others from committing the crime.

He said, however, that he had decided to be lenient with them, saying, "the Akosombo Dam is almost dried up and instead of helping in protecting it you are rather stealing and wasting the power".

The presiding judge asked the authorities of the company not to reconnect the accused persons until they had finished paying the fines in addition to the penalty for power theft, consumption unaccounted for and reconnection fees.

Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police Martin Dafeamekpor told the court that security personnel of the company on their usual check in December last year had a tip off that the accused had made an illegal connection with their meters.

The personnel and the police in a special operation arrested the accused persons, he added.