Thai Man Reportedly Electrocuted After Using a Charging iPhone 4S

According to a report from Daily News Thailand [Google Translate] (via South China Morning Post), a man in Thailand was pronounced dead after being electrocuted by his iPhone 4s, which he was using while it was charging. The man appeared to be using an unauthorized third-party charger to charge his device, which often do not meet Apple's safety standards.

Local police found that the smartphone was still connected to a charger in a nearby power outlet, indicating that the victim had likely been talking on the phone while charging it at the same time.

Photographs taken of the charger show a blue model different from the standard white ones that Apple includes with every iPhone, suggesting that it was a cheaply made fake.

This is not the first time this year that an iPhone was accused of being a safety hazard, as a woman in China suffered eye injuries from her iPhone 5 after it exploded while she was on the phone this past August. Additionally, a Chinese man was left in a coma after receiving an electric shock while charging his iPhone 4 in July, which followed the death of a Chinese woman under similar circumstances.

The latter two incidents also reportedly involved the use of unauthorized third-party adapters, with Apple responding to the events by establishing an international third-party USB charger "Takeback Program" offering official replacement chargers for $10 to anyone who turns in a suspect adapter.

Wednesday November 27, 2013 6:15 pm PST by Richard Padilla - macrumors.com