French businessman electrocuted in Pattaya

[Thaivisa News]

Pattaya, Chon Buri:- A French resident in Pattaya was electrocuted and killed while he was trying to fix a water pump in his house Thursday night, police said.

Pol Lt Col Techid Kulkanit, an officer on duty of Nongplua police station in Chon Buri's Bang Lamung district, was informed of the accident at 10 pm. Techind was told that a foreigner was accidentally killed by an electrical short-circuit inside a house of the European-Thai House housing estate in Tambon Nongplua in the district.

Techid rushed to the scene with a doctor on duty and officials of the Sawang Boribun Thammasathan Pattaya Foundation.

They found the body of Francois Marie Michel Poncet, 44, in the one-storey twin house lying on his back inside the water pump room. His left hand was burned by the short-circuit.

His Laotian wife, Kilame Souvannaphaphasy, 27 who is pregnant, was sitting and crying beside the body when the officials arrived at the scene.

Poncet owned the Port South Corporation which runs tourism business in Pattaya.

The wife told police that her husband was about to take shower when he found that there was no water so he went to check the water pump.

The wife said when Poncet did not return into the house after a while, she went out to check and found that he was lying unconscious in the pump room. She called for help from a neighbor who found that her husband had already died.

The body was sent for an autopsy at the Bang Lamung Hospital.

[RabC]

RIP.

Water and domestic electrics worldwide isnt a very god mix but water and Thai electrical installation standards = accident waiting to happen.

I am not Thai bashing, it is a sad truth that Thai Electrical Installation Standards are not very high.

[NickJ]

An Electrician in Thailand is more like a Magician. Your never more than a milliamp away from being electocuted in Thailand....Perhaps a pair of rubber flip flops would have saved his life. Sad.

[h90]

An Electrician in Thailand is more like a Magician. Your never more than a milliamp away from being electocuted in Thailand....Perhaps a pair of rubber flip flops would have saved his life. Sad.

"rubber flip flops" as safety shoes.....

[bruceybonus]

I woke up a few weeks ago to the sound of my water pump whirring. I went outside and water was pouring out of it. I turned off all the electric in the house, put some rubber flip flops on & some rubber gloves on. I still felt a fair bit of trepidation as I pulled the plug out of the socket!!

Edited June 5, 2015 by bruceybonus

[NeverSure]

Sad. Rip.

[khwaibah]

RIP. Short circuit BS. He made the short.

[smedly]

RIP.

Water and domestic electrics worldwide isnt a very god mix but water and Thai electrical installation standards = accident waiting to happen.

I am not Thai bashing, it is a sad truth that Thai Electrical Installation Standards are not very high.

so you are blaming the Thais for this rather than blaming someone who was likely meddling with something he was not qualified to do, maybe a phone call to an electrician might have been the correct course of action - and I am electrically qualified and know the dangers

RIP

[smedly]

An Electrician in Thailand is more like a Magician. Your never more than a milliamp away from being electocuted in Thailand....Perhaps a pair of rubber flip flops would have saved his life. Sad.

I doubt it, a ground (under your feet) shock is usually not a killer - holding the pipes while touching a live connection is and is usually across the chest stopping the heart

[Khun Riki]

seems that after living few years in Thailand he realized he can fix the water pump better than thai technician, it costs him his life :-(

R.I.P.

[RabC]

RIP.

Water and domestic electrics worldwide isnt a very god mix but water and Thai electrical installation standards = accident waiting to happen.

I am not Thai bashing, it is a sad truth that Thai Electrical Installation Standards are not very high.

so you are blaming the Thais for this rather than blaming someone who was likely meddling with something he was not qualified to do, maybe a phone call to an electrician might have been the correct course of action - and I am electrically qualified and know the dangers

RIP

Who knows what happend?, I too am certified and qualified in electrical engineering and I stick by my statement that electrical installation standards here are severely lacking. This isn't the place to start an argument, it was a sad occurrence and RIP to the gentleman.

[ExPratt]

Thats the 3rd world for you

RIP poor bloke

[manarak]

very sad death, RIP.

always think twice in Thailand, about anything.

[DLang]

Thai electwistitee no need Earth.

[Crossy]

Yup ^^^.

And a 500 Baht RCBO would likely have saved him

EDIT For those interested in how to add an RCBO and other electrical safety issues please have a look here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/693630-how-to-make-your-thai-electrical-system-safe/

[craigt3365]

RIP to this poor man. Back home, all outside plugs are GFCI protected. As are all plugs in bathrooms or near water sources.

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/gfci-electrical-outlet-in-the-bathroom-a-must-have

[craigt3365]

Yup ^^^.

And a 500 Baht RCBO would likely have saved him

Is there a difference with the voltage here? Many years ago, I was in my father's pool when the pump went off. I opened the box to switch it back on and accidentally hit a live wire as it was late at night. The current grabbed me, but luckily when I fell back, it let me go. Would a GFCI have helped with that??? Or is 120V less "dangerous". Just curious....

Again, RIP to this man and my heart goes out to his wife. How horrible.

[Tatsujin]

Sad to hear of yet another preventable death, and one of many reasons why I will not attempt ANY electrical repairs in the house ... no standards, no safety, no clue.

[onemorechang]

So sad, RIP Man

Just a thought,

Go buy a meter and check power is off before messing about with any electrical gear.

even if you have flipped the main switch still check..

[Soutpeel]

Yup ^^^.

And a 500 Baht RCBO would likely have saved him

Is there a difference with the voltage here? Many years ago, I was in my father's pool when the pump went off. I opened the box to switch it back on and accidentally hit a live wire as it was late at night. The current grabbed me, but luckily when I fell back, it let me go. Would a GFCI have helped with that??? Or is 120V less "dangerous". Just curious....

Again, RIP to this man and my heart goes out to his wife. How horrible.

Its the amps that kill you not the volts, if it was voltage, tasers would be killing everyone

[impulse]

Poncet owned the Port South Corporation which runs tourism business in Pattaya.

French guy. Laotian wife. How does he own a tourism business?

[Crossy]

Yup ^^^.

And a 500 Baht RCBO would likely have saved him

Is there a difference with the voltage here? Many years ago, I was in my father's pool when the pump went off. I opened the box to switch it back on and accidentally hit a live wire as it was late at night. The current grabbed me, but luckily when I fell back, it let me go. Would a GFCI have helped with that??? Or is 120V less "dangerous". Just curious....

Again, RIP to this man and my heart goes out to his wife. How horrible.

A GFCI (American for RCD) would likely have tripped and reduced the severity of the shock you received, you would still have felt it mind.

120v is perceived as less dangerous, in reality once it gets past the skin resistance even a 12V car battery can kill.

[Sviss Geez]

Poncet owned the Port South Corporation which runs tourism business in Pattaya.

French guy. Laotian wife. How does he own a tourism business?

Very relevant.

[brucegoniners]

Electrocuted and killed? Uh, kind of redundant, wouldn't you say?

[Crossy]

Electrocuted and killed? Uh, kind of redundant, wouldn't you say?

Explain...?

In the strictest sense electrocution (as opposed to electric shock) implies death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrocution

[hellstens]

Only ONE Thing matter. if you do not know how to do it ... let be trying! RIP!

[Johnnie99]

RIP.

Water and domestic electrics worldwide isnt a very god mix but water and Thai electrical installation standards = accident waiting to happen.

I am not Thai bashing, it is a sad truth that Thai Electrical Installation Standards are not very high.

so you are blaming the Thais for this rather than blaming someone who was likely meddling with something he was not qualified to do, maybe a phone call to an electrician might have been the correct course of action - and I am electrically qualified and know the dangers

RIP

Are you trying to say this was not a Thai-built building? Are you seriously suggesting that a Thai electrician would have been able to fix the problem?

If you are indeed electrically trained, you will certainly have looked in horror at the incompetently installed electrical systems in most Thai buildings.

[kkup]

RIP. I even pay a guy to replace light-bulbs :/ Don't trust anything electrical here.

[jossthaifarang]

Sad his child will grow up without ever knowing him. RIP

[Chao Lao Beach]

Why to folks here refuse to use an "Saftey Switch", this guy would have had ine in France and wanted to play sucicide to save less than 1000b.