Apple Inc. AAPL -0.04% said Monday that it is investigating a case in which the family of a 23-year-old woman alleges that she was electrocuted by her iPhone.
Though details about the case remain sketchy, it has caught the imagination of social media users in China, who have been spreading word about the case and warning not to use devices while they are charging.
- Reuters
- A visitor tries an iPhone at an Apple store in Beijing March 28, 2013.
According to a report in China’s official state-run Xinhua news agency, relatives of the woman in China’s western Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region are alleging the woman died after trying to answer a call while her iPhone was charging. An officer with the local Public Security Bureau said Monday that an “elementary inspection” showed the woman, named Ma Ailun, was electrocuted.
“Her neck had an obvious electronic injury,” he told China Real Time.
Beyond that, though, the official said that the case was still under investigation, and there were no more details available about whether her smartphone, the charger, or something else killed the woman.
In its statement, Apple said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the Ma family. We will fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in this matter.”
Official media quoted extensively from the microblog feed of a woman who they said was the sister of the victim, though her identity couldn’t be confirmed by China Real Time. She said that her sister had purchased the phone in December. She didn’t indicate whether the phone was Apple’s newest iPhone or an earlier model, and thus far local media reports have had conflicting reports about which model the iPhone might be.
While the fact are still unclear, a number of online users in China focused on the type of charger she might have used. The China Consumers’ Association in May warned about the dangers of a “flood” of uncertified power chargers on the market (in Chinese). In the release the association warned the chargers could turn a smartphone into a “pocket grenade” and cause explosions, electric shock, or fires in a variety of electronic devices.
“Don’t talk such nonsense, it’s a five volt current, it couldn’t kill a cockroach,” wroteone microblogger. “What is her house’s surge protector doing?”
Another said using a phone while it is plugged in shouldn’t be a problem “unless you’re using a shoddy transformer. Even if you do that the possibility of this happening is low.”
The case is the most recent in a string of public relations difficulties for Apple in China. In April the Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily put the Cupertino, Calif., company’s app store on a list of websites being investigated for providing pornographic content in China. Earlier that same month, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook issued an apology to its Chinese customers after the company’s warranty policycame under attack in state media.
– Paul Mozur. Follow him on Twitter @paulmozur
