The man responsible for work carried out on a damaged street light which left a local teenager in critical condition after receiving a massive electric shock pleaded guilty in Mandurah Magistrates Court on Friday.
Malcolm John Cooper, 47, was charged with undertaking electrical work not in accordance with wiring rules in relation to the March 16, 2015 incident which saw a 15-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl both shocked.
The pair had been walking to school in Greenfields when they came into contact with the pole, which had been damaged in a car crash in October, 2014, and had not been repaired.
The boy sustained serious injuries and was given CPR at the scene, before being rushed to Princess Margaret Hospital.
The girl suffered less severe injuries, but also received a shock.
On Thursday the Mandurah court heard Cooper, while employed by Western Power, had worked on a switchboard supplying power to the pole in November, 2014.
He reset a circuit breaker, but failed to disconnect a conductor and did not complete tests adequately.
Power to the damaged pole, which had been switched off in October, was restored.
For four months the pole remained energised but not repaired.
The prosecution said Cooper’s failure to inspect and verify his work resulted in a potentially life-threatening situation, and had presented risk to the whole community.
Counsel for Cooper said his client had suffered immensely as a result of press coverage of the incident and had “paid a heavy price”.
Stood down by Western Power over the incident and ultimately sacked, the court heard Cooper had suffered from depression and loss of sleep since being charged.
Cooper was described as an experienced electrician who accepted the blame for the dangerous work.
“He had a lot on his mind,” his lawyer said.
“He was highly stressed [at the time he undertook the work].”
Magistrate Anne Longden accepted Cooper was ordinarily a “very careful worker”, but referred to his offence as serious.
“The community has to have confidence in licensed electricians,” she said.
“The consequences could have been fatal.”
The maximum penalty for Cooper’s charge was $50,000.
Magistrate Longden fined him $6000 and ordered prosecution costs of $867.50 be paid.