Chinese man allegedly electrocuted by iPhone 4 and third-party adapter
For the second time this week, a report from China links Apple's iPhone to an accidental electrocution, with the latest incident involving a 30-year-old man who has been comatose for over ten days.
The Beijing Evening News reported Thursday that Wu Jian Tong was "suddenly shocked" while plugging in an iPhone 4 connected to a supposedly "counterfeit" or third-party charger.
According to a translation of the report provided by ZDNet, Wu shouted "I'm getting shocked" as he connected his iPhone 4 to the allegedly counterfeit adapter. Wu's sister, who relayed the story to reporters, said she tried to unplug the device.
"I then felt needle-like pains on my fingertips," she said. "The current was running from my finger, through to my arm and body, and to the foot."
When the emergency medical team arrived on scene, Wu was not breathing and required CPR. Rushed to a nearby hospital, Wu was stabilized by doctors, but he remains in a coma as a result of the severe deprivation of oxygen to his brain.
"It was no doubt an electric shock," Wu's doctor said.
Wu's reported incident pre-dates the death of a Chinese woman allegedly electrocuted in a similar manner. A follow-up to that story from CCTV claims the device in question was actually an iPhone 4, not an iPhone 5 as originally reported, and that a non-Apple adapter was also involved.
In response to the woman's death, which is still under investigation, Apple on Monday promised to "fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in [the] matter." The company has yet to issue a statement regarding Wu's alleged electrocution.
The Beijing Evening News reported Thursday that Wu Jian Tong was "suddenly shocked" while plugging in an iPhone 4 connected to a supposedly "counterfeit" or third-party charger.
According to a translation of the report provided by ZDNet, Wu shouted "I'm getting shocked" as he connected his iPhone 4 to the allegedly counterfeit adapter. Wu's sister, who relayed the story to reporters, said she tried to unplug the device.
"I then felt needle-like pains on my fingertips," she said. "The current was running from my finger, through to my arm and body, and to the foot."
When the emergency medical team arrived on scene, Wu was not breathing and required CPR. Rushed to a nearby hospital, Wu was stabilized by doctors, but he remains in a coma as a result of the severe deprivation of oxygen to his brain.
"It was no doubt an electric shock," Wu's doctor said.
Wu's reported incident pre-dates the death of a Chinese woman allegedly electrocuted in a similar manner. A follow-up to that story from CCTV claims the device in question was actually an iPhone 4, not an iPhone 5 as originally reported, and that a non-Apple adapter was also involved.
In response to the woman's death, which is still under investigation, Apple on Monday promised to "fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in [the] matter." The company has yet to issue a statement regarding Wu's alleged electrocution.
Comments
There are a lot of other factors involved here to like what shape are the outlets in the home like? Condition of the wiring in the home and so on. Are they using some kind of transformer as well. If any of these are bad or in poor condition they to can lead to electrocution or shock.
But an unauthorized wanna be product is the worse offender of all. Not made or approved by Apple. Not quality tested or built to the URL standards for electric safety.
I live in Sweden an the last few days all the big national newspapers have jumped on the bandwagon and are now reporting people getting burnt or electrocuted by their iPhones. Today there was a frontpage article about a girl that had slept *on* her iPhone 5 and was *chocked* to learn that she mobile finally got very hot and she claimed to have been burnt by it.
I'm sure this is not over yet. I am also equally sure that we are not going to read any stories about competing brands smartphones burning up or electrocuting people even though we *know* that is happening to $50 Android Smartphones as we speak...
It's the pre-AAPL report period after all...
BTW. I forgot:
Countdown to class-action lawsuit in 3...2....1
TFTFY, AI
c'mon, it had nothing to do with Apple
Holy crap, you call this journalism ! What a joke.
Kasper, dude. Really ?
jeez
[B]Updated....[/B]
I mixed Thunderbolt with Lightning above. Here is the AppleInsider link to the article I had referenced.
[URL]http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/10/09/apples-lightning-authentication-chip-may-have-been-reverse-engineered[/URL]
As I read the article and related comments with recent events in mind, I wondered what the manufacturer was thinking now about its actions. And, some of the comments against Apple in support of the manufacturer made me want to copy and paste them here and ask the commenters to stand next to their remarks today.
As for these Chinese electrocutions, maybe they have bad infrastructure in China or something, with crappy wiring in some houses and apartments, that wouldn't surprise me. And if you combine that with dangerous knockoff chargers, well, that can maybe be deadly. Anyway, this case is not Apple's fault at all, as we know that a knockoff charger was involved. Sometimes trying to save a buck or two isn't always the smartest thing to do.
i am definitely suspect of this story. if you are being shocked to the level that puts you in a coma, there is very little chance you have the time to say what is happening to you.
Even with a quick 220v zap, you barely get a chance to say Ow. Trust me.
This sounds like a scene from something like 'Home Alone' ... bzzzzzzz .. "Help!! Iiiiiii'mmmmm beeeeeiiiinnngggg eeelllleeeccctrroooccuuuttteeeddd" bzzzzz
With hilarious consequences....
or maybe its real and i'm being really insensitive...
hmmm daddy or chips?
While the original Apple charger has good security measures, and follows all regulations, I dislike the concept of these chargers. With the traditional linear adaptors, I never had any notice of a PSU outputting high voltage, and I've been using electronics since the 80s. This idea of having a tiny item is cool, but the idea of having 340V DC inside it isn't so cool, no matter how many security measures are there. I'd prefer a traditional linear PSU rather than this coolness.
Quote:
For the second time this week, a report from China links Apple's iPhone to an accidental electrocution, with the latest incident involving a 30-year-old man who has been comatose for over ten days.
Oh for the love of Pete—here we go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RobM
Chinese man allegedly electrocuted by third-party adapter
TFTFY, AI
c'mon, it had nothing to do with Apple
Holy crap, you call this journalism ! What a joke.
Kasper, dude. Really ?
jeez
Agreed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by seanie248
hmmm daddy or chips?
That quote will pass many by here, but it did make me laugh.
You haven't been around long, have you?
It's hard to imagine how you could block a charger from supplying current, but even if Apple were to do that (completely block third party devices), the media would be all over Apple for having a closed ecosystem and claim that Android is so superior because you can use any charger you wish. Everyone will forget all about the consequences (including bad PR for Apple and injured people) of third party crap floating around and will claim that Apple is evil and greedy.