There are reports of a second case of electrocution in China from a user of an Apple device in the Chinese state press, as Samsung points the finger of blame for an exploding Galaxy S3 in Switzerland at a third-party battery.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported 30-year-old Wu Jiantong was electrocuted while plugging a charger into his iPhone 5.
Without thinking, Wu’s sister, Wu Jian Xiang, attempted to pull the plug from the wall socket, experiencing an electric shock as a result.
While the exact cause of the electrocution remains uncertain, it appears Wu was using an unlicensed third-party charger at the time.
The news comes a week after a similar case emerged, in which 23-year-old China Southern Airlines flight attendant Ma Ailun was allegedly talking on her iPhone, which was connected to a charger, and was suddenly killed as a result of a strong electric current.
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, Samsung claims a recent explosion of a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone was caused by a faulty third-party battery being used in the device.
As SmartCompany reported earlier this month, 18-year-old painter Fanny Schlatter’s smartphone suddenly exploded while she was loading paint cans onto a truck at work, severely burning her legs.
According to Le Matin, following the incident, Samsung examined the remains of the phone in an attempt to find the cause of the explosion.
“The battery used in the device was not supplied or manufactured by Samsung or a company authorized by Samsung. Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research Laboratory Dübendorf, corroborated this conclusion,” Samsung Switzerland spokesperson Mirjam Berger says.
However, Schlatter maintains she did not use a third-party battery in the device.
“I was surprised and shocked when Samsung told me the news because the battery in question bore the logo of the company,” Schlatter says.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
