Teenager Electrocuted to Death by Cell Phone Charging

Charging our phones is as natural as drinking water. We do it everyday that it’s become part of our daily lives, and we fret when the battery’s dying and there’s no charger in sight.

Safe phone charging is really serious business. Mums, the danger of getting electrocuted by cell phone is a real, and it can happen at any time.

Boy electrocuted using headphones plugged to charging phone

The boy’s ears was bleeding – possibly from using headphones plugged to his charging phone | Source: Pexels

A Malaysian boy, from Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia was found dead, lying on the ground by his mother, who initially found her son lying on the floor when she left for work in the morning. She thought he was sleeping.

Feeling uneasy, she went back home to check on him. She touched him and found his body was cold. She quickly contacted a nearby clinic.

The medical officer found no injuries or bruises, but did find his ears was bleeding. It’s possible the boy was wearing headphones plugged to his charging phone. 

The medical officer confirmed the boy died hours earlier. According to later post mortem checks, his cause of death was related to electrocution.

More cases of electrocuted by cell phone

Image source: iStock

Getting electrocuted by cell phone is not an isolated case. There are several cases of charging phones causing death happening around the world.

In a case from Brazil, a girl died in similar circumstances to the boy above – she had her earphones plugged into her charging phone, and got electrocuted when she received a call. The electrical surge went through her ears and straight to the brain. She fell unconscious later, and died.

Another case in Malaysia involved charging a phone overnight. While the victim usually left her phone charging on the floor, she accidentally left it on the bed. The phone overheated and exploded, leaving the victim with serious burn injuries on her arm.

A similar overnight charging case happened in Vietnam. A 16 year old girl came in contact with her broken charging cable while sleeping. She was found unconscious the morning after, and pronounced dead in the hospital.

In Kazakhstan, a baby girl died from playing with the charging smartphone. She may have been chewing on the charging cord, and got electrocuted. The baby had burn marks all over her arms and legs.

Practice safe charging habits

Stop using your handphone when its charging, and advise your kids not to do so as well | Source: Pexels

While the danger of getting electrocuted by cell phone is always there, it’s possible to mitigate the risk altogether. Here’s a quick checklist of safe charging habits you and your family should follow:

1. Stop using the phone while charging. Most phones nowadays have quick charging features so you’ll be able to use the phone sooner, so be patient.
2. Charge often. You don’t have to charge the phone overnight, so don’t worry about charging the phone when it’s at 75%. It’s actually better than depleting it’s battery.
3. Don’t leave your charging phone on the bed or near any heat source. Overheating not only depletes a battery’s life, but in a rare occurrence, it could cause an explosion.
4. Don’t use any charging cables with exposed wiring or damaged charging heads. Buy a new one, as long as it is original or comes with the Safety Mark printed on its packaging or on the product itself.

Source: News Straits Times, Android Authority

Read also: Remote-control toy explodes while charging: Family urges other parents to be careful