2-year-old Thai girl in coma after being hit by an electric shock at an ATM

[DisainaM]

 

Unbelievable. How many have to die ? 9 dead by last count on a failed condo construction and now this. Totally inexcusable. My heart goes out the little girl and her family.

I insisted he grounded the water heater or I would not pay him. He angrily cursed in Thai and said: you Farang know nothing: no need green wire to make it work!

It is appalling that an ATM of a major bank had an electric leak most likely because it was not grounded.

 

 

Today, many bungalows have an multi point heater, with 6.000 to 8.000 Watt,

http://ehomemarts.tarad.com/product.detail_928460_en_4928435

which requires at least a 7,5 sq mm wiring to the main breaker box.

 

The lack of minimum sq.mm is a huge safety issue.

 

In terms of a earthing system installation, the missing of an annual control of the ground connection under tropical climate is an issue,

cause rotten connectors will change your house safety.

[webfact]

SCB takes care of ATM accident case

BANGKOK: -- Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) expressed deep regrets to a girl suffering from an electric shock on contact with the bank's ATM in the southern province of Trang.

In a statement, it said that the particular ATM is examined jointly by the bank’s technicians and police, to find out irregularities. The ATM is now out of service.

The bank also said that it has elevated measures to monitor the ATM electrical system. It insisted that all ATMs have been constantly checked for safety.

Parichat Noopinit is now hospitalised. The bank promised to take care of the medical and other expenses.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/SCB-takes-care-of-ATM-accident-case-30240919.html

[thenation]2014-08-14[/thenation]

[webfact]

TRANG
Toddler injured by ATM electrical shock remains in critical condition

BANGKOK: -- A 2-year-old girl who was seriously injured by a short-circuit in an ATM in Trang's Yan Ta Khao district last week is still in a serious condition.

Toddler injured in ATM electrical shock incident remains in critical condition There is no brain response, although Nong Yok’s blood pressure has improved, said Trang Hospital deputy director Dr Wanthana Saingam.

The brain will not recover from cerebral hypoxia after the electric shock. However, the medical team is doing their best to help the child but the family should be prepared for any unexpected news, she added.

Relative Panudda Bumrung was in tears as she explained how the toddler had swung her arms and touched the ATM machine of Siam Commerical Bank while she was withdrawing cash from the ATM and received an electric shock.

Sukulya Noopinij, the mother, said that she had been informed by the doctor to prepare for the worst. She added that bank staff had visited her daughter everyday since the accident, and the bank insisted on taking full responsibility.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Toddler-injured-by-ATM-electrical-shock-remains-in-30240923.html

[thenation]2014-08-14[/thenation]

[Prbkk]

The bank takes full responsibility? I don't think so. That just means they will pay expenses and compensation to try to make the story go away. Full responsibility would mean the resignation of the president/ceo.

[technologybytes]

I have to say that however sorry I feel for the little girl, this story sounds fishy.

 

Firstly, the ATM would certainly be grounded, so it's difficult to imagine how a part that a customer comes into contact with could be at a high enough current to cause any harm.

 

Whatever the truth, it's a very sad story.

Edited August 14, 2014 by technologybytes

[JacChang]

The atm has been fired and moved to an inactive post.

[Jim walker]

No RCDs or RCBO's fitted as per normal Thai electrical system if it was an international bank you would have thought they would have more care and responsibility taken in their electrical system installation with such basic earthing system installed most high buildings have lightning poles running to earth fitted so why not bang in a few earth spikes for their mains distribution board.

[darren84310]

 

Unbelievable. How many have to die ? 9 dead by last count on a failed condo construction and now this. Totally inexcusable. My heart goes out the little girl and her family.

This sad "accident" relived memories of the Thai "electrician" who came to my home to install new water heaters. Before he was done with the installation I decided to check what he had done so far. I caught him in time before he was ready to snip the green wire for grounding. I insisted he grounded the water heater or I would not pay him. He angrily cursed in Thai and said: you Farang know nothing: no need green wire to make it work!

It is appalling that an ATM of a major bank had an electric leak most likely because it was not grounded.

The bank will give financial support to the family of the little girl. Not because of the goodness of their heart but because per Thai custom if the family of the victim is financially compensated, the family, abiding by tradition, will not press charges and the culprit is not prosecuted. As in the  case of sinsod, it's all about the money.

Thainess kills!

May God help this little girl fully recover!

 

 

Yes, totally sad and avoidable. When are they going to start teaching the necessity for earthing.  

I agree with everything you say except the last line!

 

There is no God, unless of course you have proof?... I'd be inclined to pin my hopes on the doctors.

 

Good luck little girl and let's hope that the parents will sue the bank and even the government for its lack of regulations to prevent these all too often incidents.

Let's hope heads roll at the highest levels.

[realenglish1]

So sad My heart goes out to the family and All banks should check their electrical connections to ATMs

 

What a freak accident Sure the bank has to pay to avoid a costly law suite

[bino]

Firstly, the ATM would certainly be grounded

Welcome to the forum. You must be brand new to Thailand?

[Peterphuket]

As with many things, it will never change, it is the "Mai Pen Rai" mentality of the Thai.

And I think it is not difficult to say that the machine didn't have a good earth connection, as simple as that.

And SCB, you'll check now imidiatly all the other machines in the country, and maybe a hint to other banks??????

[catweazle]

Quick and thorough recovery to the little girl. Brain cancer to the ones responsible.

 

Since the little girl is just a nobody and not daughter of a high ranking officer or even more elitaire circles, nothing will change and nobody's head will roll over this. Thailaaaaeeeennn...

Edited August 14, 2014 by catweazle

[Peterphuket]

Safety in Thailand will remain of secondary concern until laws are updated to allow some serious money to be won in law suits.  Now the laws limit law suit compensation/damages to small amounts. Plus, it seems Thais prefer out-of-court compensation just to avoid trying to sue someone which could take forever in the Thai justice system.  But with such law changes comes higher product/services prices due to insurance requirements, higher insurance premiums, etc....and of course many more ambulance chasing lawyers.

 

Unless it is an American, the claim could prove to be very high.

[worgeordie]

Thailand, 2 wires good, 3 wires bad.

They seem to have a complete disregard for the dangers

of electricity,most likely just because they cannot see it !,

wonder how many will be killed this rainy season,go to any

market and see wires ,taped together lying on the floor.

regards Worgeordie

[dotpoom]

Maybe SCB thought some of the earlier complaints were just shocks generated by customers finding out their account balances were suddenly a lot lower for some unexplained reason.

 

Hope the little girl fully recovers.   Thailand is so behind the times in terms of electrical safety and safety in general.

 

 

 

Nothing ever seems off limits when it comes to displaying how witty some people are.

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

Hope for the best for this little girl. With no functioning brain-stem it doesn't look good.
 
Most managers with a western mentality that I know would have shut the machine down on their own initiative at the very first suspicion of short circuit or leaking electricity. If it had been me and I was later proven wrong and the ATM machine was OK, I'd say "So fire me"!
 
 

That's because you utilize commonsense and you are an ethical, responsible and caring person. But in this case the brain of Siam Bank had the leakage, refused to address the dangerous situation even after numerous complaints, and if this innocent girl dies Siam Bank should get shocked with a manslaughter charge.

[ginglee]

 

Unbelievable. How many have to die ? 9 dead by last count on a failed condo construction and now this. Totally inexcusable. My heart goes out the little girl and her family.

This sad "accident" relived memories of the Thai "electrician" who came to my home to install new water heaters. Before he was done with the installation I decided to check what he had done so far. I caught him in time before he was ready to snip the green wire for grounding. I insisted he grounded the water heater or I would not pay him. He angrily cursed in Thai and said: you Farang know nothing: no need green wire to make it work!

It is appalling that an ATM of a major bank had an electric leak most likely because it was not grounded.

The bank will give financial support to the family of the little girl. Not because of the goodness of their heart but because per Thai custom if the family of the victim is financially compensated, the family, abiding by tradition, will not press charges and the culprit is not prosecuted. As in the  case of sinsod, it's all about the money.

Thainess kills!

May God help this little girl fully recover!

 

You had a close call there...He was correct though, you don't need the green to make it work, you just need it to save your life !!

 

If the ATM was earthed properly there wouldn't have been a problem. So sad it took this little girl to get hurt for them to act...

[antsrule]

Before 1964 in Canada, most household electrical service was not grounded properly (2 pronged plugs). People (including me) were regularily non-fataly electrocuted. I suspect our better luck was due to 120 volt power whereas here in Thailand service is at 220 volts. Connecting that green line is clearly a matter of life and death here. Very sad for the little girl and her family. An unnecessary tragedy, sames as the young boys at the swimming pool and so many others.
Why is it that electricians are not taken to task over this. A simple examination of the equipment would indicate improper installation. The installer and the installation company need to be held responsible if Thailand wants to fix this. If regulations do not require proper grounding they need to be corrected as soon as possible and installers need to be made aware of their liability. The bank is liable only if they were aware of the problem and were not diligent in taking it offline for repairs.
Good luck little girl, I hope you recover and have a happy life.

[attrayant]

How much do you wanna bet that they just reverse the plug polarity (by unplugging and plugging it back in with the prongs reversed)? There! All fixed!

Never touch any electrical device in Thailand while barefoot.

[kannot]

Lets  all hope "no one "  will be found responsible especially the bank

[kannot]

Hope for the best for this little girl. With no functioning brain-stem it doesn't look good.

 

Most managers with a western mentality that I know would have shut the machine down on their own initiative at the very first suspicion of short circuit or leaking electricity. If it had been me and I was later proven wrong and the ATM machine was OK, I'd say "So fire me"!

 

 

surely you mean "transfer me"

[Swerver2007]

I like how they show the ATM still powered and stating closed in the picture.

I am sure the paper notice placed surgically with 2 pieces of sellotape will do the trick, never shall it fall off or be removed by randoms.

[kannot]

 

Unbelievable. How many have to die ? 9 dead by last count on a failed condo construction and now this. Totally inexcusable. My heart goes out the little girl and her family.

This sad "accident" relived memories of the Thai "electrician" who came to my home to install new water heaters. Before he was done with the installation I decided to check what he had done so far. I caught him in time before he was ready to snip the green wire for grounding. I insisted he grounded the water heater or I would not pay him. He angrily cursed in Thai and said: you Farang know nothing: no need green wire to make it work!

It is appalling that an ATM of a major bank had an electric leak most likely because it was not grounded.

The bank will give financial support to the family of the little girl. Not because of the goodness of their heart but because per Thai custom if the family of the victim is financially compensated, the family, abiding by tradition, will not press charges and the culprit is not prosecuted. As in the  case of sinsod, it's all about the money.

Thainess kills!

May God help this little girl fully recover!

 

Had the same with "Tescos" approved installers of an aircon, not only NO green wire but the other two were purple and black, of  course being prepared for this eventuality I gave them RED GREEN BLACK and told them which went where they at least had the right sized cable, yes "we never do it this  way" I always ignore that crap and treat them like the idiots they are............no apologies they ARE idiots.

[Woodsie888]

I'm surprised at the number of 'recover and get well' comments here.
Obviously not many posters read the OP and subsequent posts very clearly.
She's not going to recover from brain hypoxia.
Sadly, all the family can now do, is wait for the inevitable.

[DieterWiehe]

 

 

Unbelievable. How many have to die ? 9 dead by last count on a failed condo construction and now this. Totally inexcusable. My heart goes out the little girl and her family.

I insisted he grounded the water heater or I would not pay him. He angrily cursed in Thai and said: you Farang know nothing: no need green wire to make it work!

It is appalling that an ATM of a major bank had an electric leak most likely because it was not grounded.

 

 

Today, many bungalows have an multi point heater, with 6.000 to 8.000 Watt,

http://ehomemarts.tarad.com/product.detail_928460_en_4928435

which requires at least a 7,5 sq mm wiring to the main breaker box.

 

in any case it is advisable to have an ELCB ( Earth Leakage circuit breaker) installed

 

The lack of minimum sq.mm is a huge safety issue.

 

In terms of a earthing system installation, the missing of an annual control of the ground connection under tropical climate is an issue,

cause rotten connectors will change your house safety.

 

 

[ukguyinthai]

They should make the key pad plastic buttons,instead of the metal ones. It will be cheaper to make and save lives.  Then build fences with bamboo 3 ft high around the ATM s to keep kids away and stop wild soi dogs peeing on them,further saving lives.Create even more power cuts thereby turning the machines off for 3 hours every day at unspecified times further reducing deaths and ATM fraud. Pay a Cambodian 200 Baht a day, to touch the machine every hour to test it.complete with free lodgings inside the machine.Further reducing deaths to people who may be rich enough to have a bank account.( don't make a work permit available so he cannot claim any compensation later). These are good Thai logic reasoning's,oh how you make them laugh talking constantly about green wires.

Good luck to the girl 

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Please someone sue this bloody bank for bazillions.

How stupid can they be even after getting warned?

 

Do you know who is a shareholder in SCB? if you know, I think that you can forget about suing for bazillions. 

[trainman34014]

Just another indication of how much life is respected here.  Don't expect anything to change in your lifetime.

[Arjay]

Why could this not happen those card skimming ATM cloner's?  God please save her...!

[KhnomKhnom]

Deaths due to faulty electrical work is so common here. Living in this country has given me a complex about it. After reading all the stories about people dying after stepping into puddles, or jumping into a pool, I avoid stepping into a puddles completely, and I can't get into a bath tub without checking it first or into pool without that doesn't already have people in it. Sometimes I am even nervous about grasping metal rails or structures after seeing a friend of mine shocked so badly after grasping a metal support after getting out of a pool, or reading about the kids electrocuted by a football bleachers. He stood there silently with a strange look on his face, unable to release his grasp on the pole or speak. Eventually someone figured out what was happening and pushed him away. I guess I have to add ATM's to the list.

Nomad, if you just must touch a questionable metal thing, do so with the back of your hand.  If enough electrics is there, it will constrict your muscles, jerking you hand away from the touching..... uh, usually.

 

If a person is clutching a metal part and can not release himself.... push him firmly away from the metal by using a wood chair, cane pole, or other non-metal object.  Absolutely do not touch the victim with your hands or body.

 

Proper grounding to the metal case of the ATM would have prevented this terrible accident.