Australia's leading consumer watchdogs have issued a warning to avoid using non-approved USB charges after a faulty charger was linked to a woman's death.
Fake chargers or faulty batteries have recently grabbed the headlines for electrocution of users. In a recent incident involving an Australian woman, who was electrocuted to death due to a faulty USB charger, consumer watchdogs in Australia have issued a warning about non-approved USB chargers.
The victim, identified as Sheryl Anne Aldeguer, was found dead after the faulty charger sent a high voltage current through her body. According to the New South Wales Fair Trading Commission, Aldeguer had severe burns on her ears and chest as the current passed through the charger and traveled in a loop to the earphones and laptop before returning to the other power point, which was connected to a wall socket, Sydney Morning Herald reports along with an illustration of what appears to have happened.
"The voltage seems to travel up through the faulty charger into her phone and she was wearing earplugs and also operating a laptop which was also plugged into a power point," Ms Collins said. "So the (electricity) travelled back down through the earphones to the laptop and into the power point."
The investigators also raided the mobile accessories store in Sydney's south west, where they seized several unapproved and non-compliant USB chargers, power adaptors and travel adaptors. The products did not bear any approval markings and lacked required insulation on the charging pins, which is mandatory under Australian Standards.
According to the Fair Trade Commissioner Rod Stowe, the owners of the Campsie business that sold the unofficial charger to Aldeguer will face fines up to $875,000 in addition to a two-year custodial sentence, SMH report adds.
The authorities strongly warn consumers against buying and using the non-approved USB adaptors for smartphones and tablets.
"The unapproved devices do not meet the essential safety requirements of Australian standards and are often made of inferior plastics and other insulation materials," the warning states, according to CNET. "Consumers in possession of unapproved and non-compliant USB style chargers, typically used to charge phones and tablets, should bend the pins on the chargers and dispose of them immediately."