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Vandals were to blame for the exposed access point to a Telekom Malaysia (TM) Bhd underground duct in Luyang, as well as the problems which two Kunak subscribers experienced had in accessing the Internet in their village recently.

A TM spokesman said the mischief makers pried open the duct which was embedded in the pavement along the roadside in the former area. 

“However, for whatever reason, they left the cables untouched. We suspect that the bad hats may have been metal thieves,” he said.

“They were most likely dissuaded from acting on their intent after discovering that our service lines were not copper-based.”

He said fibre optic cables had been laid beneath the pavement.

“The trouble makers fled the scene without covering back the duct.”

Consequently, he said, the access point to the rectangular-shaped duct on the road-shoulder was left exposed.

The spokesman was responding to feedback from a Luyang Phase 9 resident about the safety hazards posed by what she claimed was an uncovered “manhole” outside the fence in front of her residence.

She said there was every likelihood of pedestrians falling into the “manhole” and injuring themselves if they were not careful, especially at night when visibility was poor.

The homeowner was under the impression that the structure may have been left open when it was most recently maintained “two to three weeks ago”.

The individual provided Hotline with the pertinent details regarding her grievance, including the location of the “danger spot”. This information was forwarded to TM.

The SSD was initially asked about the goings-on in this of Luyang Phase 9.

A spokesman for the Department clarified that it was helpless to intervene in this problem as the structure was not under its jurisdiction.

“Contrary to what the resident thinks, it is not our manhole and has nothing to do with the sewer line for the neighbourhood,” she said.

The TM spokesman said its personnel went to Lorong Kinabalu shortly after learning about the resident’s concerns.

“They noted that the cover had been placed beside the open access point.”  

“One of our technicians returned a few hours to have the cover put back over the duct.”

He said maintenance on these ducts was carried out as and when it became necessary to do so.

“Our personnel have been instructed to be on the lookout for any irregularities involving these structures and to deal with these problems promptly.”

The spokesman said their counterparts in Kunak had been asked to be equally vigilant, after finding that its service lines along Lorong Muhibbah, in Kg Simpang Empat, had been cut.

He said the unscrupulous parties, who carried out this misdeed, might have been targeting the metal in these cables.

“The errant individuals may have harboured ambitions of hawking the copper as used-metal,” he said.

“However, the service lines, which had been tampered with, were not removed as they had little resale-value.”

He said a police report had been made about the incident.

“TM technicians later replaced the damaged cables and checked that the affected subscribers had regained their telecommunications services.”