Shock as man dies from sleeping next to a charging phone: Should we be concerned?

A man who was found dead in his flat may have died from electrocution from his phone. The decomposing body of Puttawat Kamwan, 34 was found by his colleagues after he missed work three days in a row. He was found with his hand on his mobile phone. Subsequently, an autopsy confirmed the cause of death to be electrocution.

Death by phone charging?

When he missed work at a jewellery shop for three consecutive days, his colleagues, concerned, decided to check on him, reports claim. According to local news outlets in the Thai city of Samut Prakan, the deceased’s landlady, who was also a neighbour did not suspect anything was wrong as the young man was usually quiet.

Metro News quotes the investigating officer, police captain Pongnarin Nontanok of Bang Phli police station as saying:

Puttawat Kamwan was still lying on his bed. His right arm was also touching the charging phone. We found no trace of assault. From the evidence, he had been dead for at least three days.

The officer added that the reports from the initial investigation pointed to electrocution as cause of death, a theory that was supported by an official autopsy.

The initial investigation reports noted the presence of the phone and charging cable, so electrocution was suspected as the cause of death. This was confirmed with an autopsy at the Ramathibodi Chakri Naruebodindra Hospital in Bangkok.

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Cause for alarm?

Although it was not determined exactly how the phone and or the charger may have led to the man’s death, you may be wondering about the dangers of using your phone while the battery is charging. A similar incident in China in 2013 prompted experts to say that the likelihood of someone being electrocuted by a smartphone, even while the device is charging, is very, very low, according to CNN.

Scott Wolfson, communications director for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said to the news outlet at the time:

We have seen very few incidents related to shock or electrocution (involving cell phones). Most of our attention has been on overheating, smoke or fire.

However, the risks become greater when someone powers a phone with a substandard or incompatible charger or using your charging phone when you have water on your hands on body.

Sources used:

CNN: Can you be electrocuted by your smartphone?

Metro: Man died from electric shock when he fell asleep next to his phone on charge