Iphone electrocutes woman in China
The relatives of a 23-year-old woman from
northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region have claimed that the woman died after
being electrocuted while using her iPhone.
The older sister of victim Ma Ailun said Saturday on
Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, that
Ma was electrocuted while trying to answer a call
on her iPhone while the device was charging.
Ma Ailun bought the iPhone in December at an
official Apple store and was using the original
charger to recharge the phone when the incident
occurred, her sister said.
Ma, who was planning her wedding on August 8, fell
to the floor when making a call with her iPhone 5,
which was being recharged at the time, Ma’s sister
said on her microblog account.
“I want to warn everyone else not to make phone
calls when your mobile phone is recharging,” she
tweeted.
The sister’s tweet was reposted more than 3,000
times. And the microblogging site was flooded with
posts urging fellow users not to make calls while
charging their phones.
“I hope that Apple Inc. can give us an explanation,”
her post reads.
Ma’s father, Ma Guanghui, confirmed that his
daughter was electrocuted, adding that her body
showed signs of electrocution.
Ma, a resident of Xinjiang’s city of Changji, was
previously employed as a flight attendant at China
Southern Airlines, although she recently quit her
job.
Local police confirmed that Ma did die of
electrocution, but they have yet to verify if her
phone was involved in the incident.
Ma’s sister said via Sina Weibo that she hopes to
seek justice from Apple.
Apple said commented on the situation: “We are
deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and
offer our condolences to the … family. We will fully
investigate and co-operate with authorities in this
matter.”
Local police said they are continuing to investigate
the case.
Experts said mobile phones have a low output of
only 3 to 5 volts, which isn’t enough to harm the
human body.
People will feel an electric shock at about 36 volts.
“However, if the charger or the circuit has a
problem, such as a broken wire, it can lead to a
shock of 220 volts,” a senior physics teacher at a
Nanjing high school was quoted as saying in a media
report.
Xu Xuelu, an expert with the Nanjing Appliance
Repairing Association, recommended people
avoid making calls with their mobile phone while it
is being recharged.
In 2010, a man in northeast China was killed by an
electric shock when making a phone call with a
handset that was being recharged with an
unauthorized charger, according to the China
Consumers Association.
northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region have claimed that the woman died after
being electrocuted while using her iPhone.
The older sister of victim Ma Ailun said Saturday on
Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, that
Ma was electrocuted while trying to answer a call
on her iPhone while the device was charging.
Ma Ailun bought the iPhone in December at an
official Apple store and was using the original
charger to recharge the phone when the incident
occurred, her sister said.
Ma, who was planning her wedding on August 8, fell
to the floor when making a call with her iPhone 5,
which was being recharged at the time, Ma’s sister
said on her microblog account.
“I want to warn everyone else not to make phone
calls when your mobile phone is recharging,” she
tweeted.
The sister’s tweet was reposted more than 3,000
times. And the microblogging site was flooded with
posts urging fellow users not to make calls while
charging their phones.
“I hope that Apple Inc. can give us an explanation,”
her post reads.
Ma’s father, Ma Guanghui, confirmed that his
daughter was electrocuted, adding that her body
showed signs of electrocution.
Ma, a resident of Xinjiang’s city of Changji, was
previously employed as a flight attendant at China
Southern Airlines, although she recently quit her
job.
Local police confirmed that Ma did die of
electrocution, but they have yet to verify if her
phone was involved in the incident.
Ma’s sister said via Sina Weibo that she hopes to
seek justice from Apple.
Apple said commented on the situation: “We are
deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and
offer our condolences to the … family. We will fully
investigate and co-operate with authorities in this
matter.”
Local police said they are continuing to investigate
the case.
Experts said mobile phones have a low output of
only 3 to 5 volts, which isn’t enough to harm the
human body.
People will feel an electric shock at about 36 volts.
“However, if the charger or the circuit has a
problem, such as a broken wire, it can lead to a
shock of 220 volts,” a senior physics teacher at a
Nanjing high school was quoted as saying in a media
report.
Xu Xuelu, an expert with the Nanjing Appliance
Repairing Association, recommended people
avoid making calls with their mobile phone while it
is being recharged.
In 2010, a man in northeast China was killed by an
electric shock when making a phone call with a
handset that was being recharged with an
unauthorized charger, according to the China
Consumers Association.
