Good day everyone,
I hope you are all having a good day, welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things crypto. In this post I will be looking at the news of an explosion at an illegal Bitcoin mining in Malaysia.
Bitcoin Mining Setup Causes Explosion in Malaysia
Local authorities in Malaysia have gained control of nine Bitcoin mining rigs, nine blower fans and a D-link router in an uninhabited house. They discovered the illegal Bitcoin mining equipment after a blast happened in the city of Puncak Alam, in Kuala Selangor district, Malaysia, on Tuesday the 11th of February. The explosion and smoke coming from the house were reportedly caused by the electricity consumption of the Bitcoin mining rigs.
It was noted by the district police chief Supt Mohd Hafiz Muhammad Nor that a total of 14 volunteer firefighters had to attend the scene following a complaint of a neighbour. The police chief said in a statement:
“Firefighters and police on patrol had to break into the uninhabited house and the fire happened in a room with modified circuitry that shorted.”
It was discovered that the operation was connected to the electricity grid in an illegal manner, meaning all the consumed power for the bitcoin mining was illegal. Tampering with electricity supply lines is a crime under Malaysian law and the police have opened an investigation under Section 427 of the Penal Code and Section 37(1) of the Electricity Supply Act 1990, urging locals familiar with the operations to report to the nearest station.
Firefighters and police resorted to breaking into the uninhabited house to put the fire out and noted that the fire had originated from a room where the power lines had been modified. The fire was extinguished about five hours after the report was made. The tampering with power lines can result in a fine of up to 100,000 Malaysian ringgit($23,700) and/or a sentence of up to five years.
Malaysia has long been struggling to address its growing illegal Bitcoin mining power theft as the South-East Asian nation has reportedly lost as much as 3.4 billion Ringgit ($763 million) since 2018. Back in 2021 illegal cryptocurrency mining in Malaysia reached an all-time high according to a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief. The Malaysian Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir noted:
“The theft of electricity by those who mine cryptocurrency occurs because they believe this activity cannot be detected due to the absence of meters on their premises.”
A number of energy supply companies in the nation have noticed unusual usage of energy which has been linked to cryptocurrency mining. Sarawak Energy, a state-owned electric utility firm, has been working closely with the Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication Sarawak to improve its methods for detecting new electricity theft techniques. The mining of Bitcoin is not illegal in Malaysia, but the act of electricity theft for mining is deemed unlawful. Minister Akmal Nasir stated that the government is looking to implement “the energy transition agenda.” This is to increase new energy sources in the country. He stated:
“But at the same time, electricity theft amounting to hundreds of millions, sometimes reaching billions of ringgit per year, occurs in our country.”
Have a great day.
Peace. CryptoGod-1.
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