§24-4-1. General penalties for violating provisions of this chapter.

Every officer, agent, employee, or stockholder of any public utility subject to the provisions of this chapter, and every patron, passenger, shipper or consignee, or other person, who shall violate any provision of this chapter, or who procures, aids or abets any violation of any such provision by any such public utility shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or be confined in jail not more than one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. When any person is convicted of a violation of any provision of this chapter, and it is alleged in the indictment on which he is convicted, and is admitted, or by the jury found, that he has been before convicted of the violation of any provisions hereof, committed prior to the violation for which the indictment upon trial was found, then he shall be fined not less than $200 nor more than $2,000, or be confined in jail not less than thirty days nor more than one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. When any person is convicted of a violation of any provision of this chapter and it is alleged in the indictment upon which he is convicted and is admitted, or by the jury found, that he has been twice, or oftener, before convicted of a violation of any provisions hereof, committed prior to the violation for which the indictment upon trial was found, then he shall be fined not less than $500 nor more than $5,000, and shall, in addition thereto, be confined in the county jail not less than three months nor more than one year.