7yo Boy Electrocuted In Phuket Hotel While Charging Game

[Jai Dee]

Boy, 7, electrocuted in Thai hotel while charging game

Victim 'was wet after holiday swim'
Wiring standards are criticised

A mother whose 7-year-old son was killed in a Thai hotel when he unplugged his Gameboy from an electrical socket has described the horror of finding his body.

Kathleen Curry, 45, discovered her son lying on the floor of their room at the Sunset Beach Hotel in Patong Beach, Phuket, which was ravaged by the 2004 tsunami.

Connor Dean O’Keeffe was on holiday with his mother and her partner, David Skinner, 49, when the accident happened on Saturday.

Ms Curry denied suggestions from hotel staff that her son had been wet when he touched the game console’s electrical charger.

“He does it all the time at home,” she said. “There should be some kind of warning about the different electrical currents you get abroad because this wouldn’t have happened in England.

“I went into our apartment to look for him but he was lying dead on the floor. He was aware of the dangers of electricity and was not stupid. He would not mess around with plugs.”

His death led to warnings about electrical safety standards in Thailand, where most electrical plugs are two-prong, missing the third “earth” prong.

Ms Curry has returned home with his body to Southwark, South London. A British consular official said: “The paperwork was done quickly so they could take him home for a proper funeral.”

The Southwark Coroner has been informed and an inquest is expected to open soon.

Thai police have investigated Connor’s death and concluded that the hotel was not at fault. Police Lieutenant-Colonel Sopol Borirok said: “It was an accident.”

Wiraporn Ungathakorn, acting manager of the Sunset Beach Hotel, said: “The boy had been swimming and went back to his room. We believe he had plugged in his Gameboy or pulled at the charger while still wet. The water must have gone straight into the plug. The safety cut could not save him.

“He was found by his parents in the room and we sent him to hospital by ambulance. Doctors could not save him. The hotel has paid his medical fees. This was a tragic accident.”

Although the death has been logged as an accident, the electrical system in Thailand is regarded as dangerous by Western standards. Five years ago a young Danish boy was killed at a Thai hotel when he came into contact with an exposed wire by a lamp illuminating the swimming pool.

Even when there are three prongs, tourists are warned not to assume that the sockets are wired properly. In the past ten years, because of increased enforcement of safety standards, more three-pronged sockets have been fitted, but recent tests have shown that less than half are properly wired.

A spokesman for the Association of Electricity Producers said: “Safety standards are extremely high in Britain, with special agencies and regulators checking that standards are observed. You can assume that standards are not so high in the Far East.”

If the plug into which Connor plugged his Game- boy charger was not earthed it would not be considered a matter of negligence in Thailand.

The authorities in Phuket fear that such incidents could affect tourism. Two years after the tsunami, the island has only just recovered its previous visitor numbers. The Sunset Beach Hotel is on the beach road two miles north of Patong Beach near Kamala, a Muslim community that was devastated by the tsunami. In all, 262 people died in Patong and Kamala Bay.

Source: TimesOnline - 5 January 2007

[Jai Dee]

Connor, 7, killed by Gameboy

A BOY of seven was electrocuted as he charged up a Gameboy he got for Christmas on holiday in Thailand.

Connor O’Keefe’s mum and stepdad found him slumped beside the power socket in his hotel room.

It is thought he may have plugged in the Gameboy or pulled at its charger while still wet from the pool.

Thai police insist it was an accident, although the family are unsure and may insist on their own investigation.

Computer game fanatic Connor died last Saturday at the Sunset Beach Hotel in Patong Beach, Phuket.

Just days earlier he had enjoyed a tiger show. Mum Kathleen Curry, 45, and stepdad David Skinner, 49, of Walworth, South East London, flew back with the body on Wednesday.

Kathleen said last night: “My son was only unplugging his Gameboy. He knew about the dangers of electricity and was not stupid.

“He wouldn’t mess around with plugs and he definitely was not wet.”

His sister Maria added: “The Gameboy was bought for Connor in Thailand.

“Obviously there has to be a question over the safety of the electrics in the hotel, but that’s something that still has to be properly looked into.”

Connor’s godmother and cousin Chanelle O’Keefe, 22, said the youngster was passionate about computer games.

She said: “He was brilliant at playing them and a complete whizz with computers.

“He was the most wonderful child with the most amazing smile.”

Hotel manager Wiraporn Ungathakorn, said he believed Connor plugged in his Gameboy while still wet from the pool.

He said: “The water must have gone straight into the plug and the safety cut could not save him.”

Thai police officer Lt Col Sopol Borirok said: “No blame has been attached. It was an accident.”

Source: The Sun - 5 January 2007

[TAWP]

Jeez. :/

And the sub-standard design of all outlets doesn't really help, even if sockets are ever properly grounded.

My wife is terrified of the outlets and electrical wires in general here. I couldn't understand why until I got zapped by the light-switch to the bathroom...only thing happening, lucky, was a hurting arm, but I cannot imagine what would have happened if I had wet hands (now only the socket-area was apparently wet from the rain during the monsun) or had been a child...

[Heng]

“He does it all the time at home,” she said. “There should be some kind of warning about the different electrical currents you get abroad because this wouldn’t have happened in England.

Okay, warning: the electrical current used in Thailand is 220 volts, which is the same as in England. You should NOT be wet in either country if you're going to plug something in. Check the hotel wiring and all, but don't overlook parental responsibility as well.

[helitool]

The main problem with Thai electrical systems is that grounding rods are usually not installed. These rods are 8' long and 2 are required to be driven ALL the way into the ground next to the building and the neutral/ground bus in the breaker box is conected to them. This alows any stray current that energizes a chassis or housing an easy path to bleed off into the ground. In 3 months I and my wife will be coming over to build our house and you can bet that the entire electrical system for it (including breaker panels and breakers) will be to USA code and in the 20' container we ship and I will be installing it. I am contenualy being shocked when I touch a computer chassis when bearfoot on the granit floor in my sister-in-laws house even though the plugs are three prong.

However the boy in question probably touched the hot prong of the plug when he pulled it (a seven year olds fingers are small enough to fit between the socket face and the plug body while the plug is still half engaged. If that were the case then the ground (if it existed at all) would have been by-passed and the current would have passed through his heart and down his leg into the probably concrete floor. The same would have happened in the US or any other country unless the outlet was an electronic ground fault detection type with built in breaker.

[jasreeve17]

"He does it all the time at home," she said. "There should be some kind of warning about the different electrical currents you get abroad because this wouldn't have happened in England.

Okay, warning: the electrical current used in Thailand is 220 volts, which is the same as in England. You should NOT be wet in either country if you're going to plug something in. Check the hotel wiring and all, but don't overlook parental responsibility as well.

Why are you trying to make excuses for the awful state of Thai wiring?

Are you a parent? Has any of your children ever used a socket to plug in an appliance?

It's dangerous here. I've lived in different apartments, over many years, and you are always likely to get a shock, at the least. The socket design is poor. The wiring standard is low. The government regulations to implement safe electric systems are either non existent or not enforced.

It's not a difficult thing to do, to safely wire up a house, apartment etc. For the sake of everyone in Thailand this area should be controlled and improved. Things like walking down main streets in the capital city in the rain and having to duck below exposed electrical cables is insane.

Rather (or, as well as) than bring in new laws on drink and cigarettes, it'd be a good idea to bring in proper regulations in this area and to enforce them. - no doubt saving hundreds of lives every year. Not to metion saving energy from badly constructed and badly performing wired networks.

[jasreeve17]

However the boy in question probably touched the hot prong of the plug when he pulled it (a seven year olds fingers are small enough to fit between the socket face and the plug body while the plug is still half engaged. If that were the case then the ground (if it existed at all) would have been by-passed and the current would have passed through his heart and down his leg into the probably concrete floor. The same would have happened in the US or any other country unless the outlet was an electronic ground fault detection type with built in breaker.

Thanks for this nice sounding explanation, but it's complete speculation, you have no idea at all. You have zero information on this incident.

I agree with parts of your first point, and everybody who lives here is aware that wiring systems are shodily implemented both at design stage and build stage, with no or little regard to safety. - how many shocks and burnt out appliances have you experienced here? I've experienced a lot in Thailand, just by doing simple things like plugging in a TV. I've never had such bad experiences in forty or more countries I've visited / lived in.

As you correctly stated in your first paragraph. It's esy to put in a good safe electrical system. Why isn't it done here? Insanity.

[onethailand]

Buildings constructed after 1995 are required by law to have proper grounding installed. Older buildings are exempted. What they need to do is amend the law to require all buildings and electrical wiring to be properly grounded.

Helitool is entirely correct, but of course it is still speculation as to whether the poor young boy actually touched the hot prong or not. And frankly, most people's fingers could still touch the prongs while partially engaged - I have done it myself with my fat fingers and been lucky not to be injured.

Parental responsibility should not be an issue - please tell me you require your children to call you every single time they want to plug something in. I have three. And when my children were young I put plastic covers on exposed outlets to prevent them sticking strange things in the socket. But by the time they are 5 or 6 they were smart enough not to try stuff like that.

Condolences to the boy's mother, sister, and other family.

[gharknes]

The other serious problem here is the fact that plugs can go into a socket either way, this is probably the most dangerous aspect of thai wiring, especially if you are using equipment with exposed metal parts that you may touch as routine, I used to get a tingle when cooking, if i put a metal spoon into the pot I would get a shock, reversing the plug cured this, I brought a neon mains tester with me from home and was amazed at how many things caused it to light up when metal parts where touched

western equipment is designed to function in an earthed 3 pin environment, when used here it could becom lethal

[Scott]

The wiring here is deplorable. I constantly get shocked (although I've been learning to be more careful). I don't get a big shock, just those little buzzes when not wearing shoes etc.

But another problem is that many of the springs inside the plugs don't work properly. It can require a fair amount of force to plug something in or to get it out. This is probably compounded by the fact that everything has to be unplugged all the time.

My deepest condolences to the family on this terrible loss.

[Bottlerocket]

Not only is the grounding rod missing but they generally skimp on the wiring required to get from the socket to the rod. In effect, you'll have what you think are grounded sockets, but they're really just ungrounded third holes. It's one of the ways they skim project money.

Sometimes I think that must be why sockets are located chest high--to save on an extra metre of copper to bring them down low.

Really sorry to hear about the boy. Mom says he wasn't wet. Besides, how many people (children included) return to their hotel rooms actually dripping wet? So much so that it would drip into the electrical socket? However, don't know anything about it. So, so sorry.

[slimdog]

Firstly my condolences to the family.

In regards to proper earthing or not, I thought I would have a look at my daughters gameboy which I bought for her in the U.K when we visited last year. Whilst it is a 3 pin plug, the earth pin is actually made of plastic..

The good news is that both the live and neutral have insulation covering half the pins length.

[Billfo]

The other serious problem here is the fact that plugs can go into a socket either way, this is probably the most dangerous aspect of thai wiring, especially if you are using equipment with exposed metal parts that you may touch as routine, I used to get a tingle when cooking, if i put a metal spoon into the pot I would get a shock, reversing the plug cured this, I brought a neon mains tester with me from home and was amazed at how many things caused it to light up when metal parts where touched

western equipment is designed to function in an earthed 3 pin environment, when used here it could becom lethal

Electric shocks from cooking, thats mental, how can the wiring standards be so low?? When I've charged my mp3 player I've had tingles from the metal 'border' around the buttons, thankfully no shocks yet. The other thing that worries me about this shoddy wiring is screwing things up like my mp3 player and camera.

[CymruAmByth]

The main problem with Thai electrical systems is that grounding rods are usually not installed. These rods are 8' long and 2 are required to be driven ALL the way into the ground next to the building and the neutral/ground bus in the breaker box is conected to them. This alows any stray current that energizes a chassis or housing an easy path to bleed off into the ground. In 3 months I and my wife will be coming over to build our house and you can bet that the entire electrical system for it (including breaker panels and breakers) will be to USA code and in the 20' container we ship and I will be installing it. I am contenualy being shocked when I touch a computer chassis when bearfoot on the granit floor in my sister-in-laws house even though the plugs are three prong.

However the boy in question probably touched the hot prong of the plug when he pulled it (a seven year olds fingers are small enough to fit between the socket face and the plug body while the plug is still half engaged. If that were the case then the ground (if it existed at all) would have been by-passed and the current would have passed through his heart and down his leg into the probably concrete floor. The same would have happened in the US or any other country unless the outlet was an electronic ground fault detection type with built in breaker.

Good friend of mine living in Bangkok heads up a construction company which build high-end properties (dwellings) in Chiang Mai and Phuket.

Told me recently that whenever the suppliers come over to quote for building materials, they ALWAYS ask "You want real earth rod, or fake one?"

I am surprised we don't read many more stories of people being electrocuted.

[ratcatcher]

This is a shocking story (NPI) but one only has to take a look along any soi or street in Thailand to see that wiring in this country surely has NO standards and if it does then it definitely is not enforced.

I have always been amazed when crossing pedestrian footbridges to see the way the electrical wires are wrapped around the metal handrail posts. It takes only one weak wire to short out and potential for deaths is high.

Basically wiring on streets is a rats nest. No wonder it's no problem for people to steal power, the authorities would rarely discover the connection.

IMHO opinion, the mere fact that this was a tourist death as opposed to some poor villager getting 220volts or whatever the amperage is, made it a news story.

Sorry for his family for such a loss. Just be very careful around electricity wherever you are.

[Jai Dee]

IMHO opinion, the mere fact that this was a tourist death as opposed to some poor villager getting 220volts or whatever the amperage is, made it a news story.

Interesting observation... none of the usual Thai news sources have reported it.

[Tammi]

My heartfelt condolences to the family. A terrible tragedy.

I was once electrocuted in the shower in another Asian country and will never again take a shower in that country. Luckily I was balanced so that when I lost consciousness I fell out of the shower.

When I renovated this condo I asked a Canadian builder friend to check the electrics and so far have had no problems.

An aquaintance died when she was renovating and apparently stepped on an electrical extension box while there was water on the floor.

One has to be especially careful in water-electric situations.

[marshbags]

From The Independent U.K. 16.29

British boy, 7, electrocuted while on holiday in Thailand

By Thair Shaikh

Published: 05 January 2007

A seven-year-old boy died after being electrocuted while plugging his video game into a socket in a hotel room in Thailand.

Connor Dean O'Keefe had returned after a swim and was thought to have still been wet when he plugged in his Gameboy, a Christmas present. He was found slumped on the floor of his room at the Sunset Beach Hotel in Patong Beach, Phuket, by his mother, Kathleen, 45, and her partner, David Skinner, 49.

The family, from Walworth, south London, had been enjoying a festive break when the incident happened on Saturday. Ms O'Keefe, who has returned home with Connor's body, was reported to have said: "My son was only unplugging his Gameboy. He knew about the dangers of electricity, he was not stupid... he definitely was not wet. There should be some warning about the different electrical currents you get abroad."

The electrical system in Thailand is regarded as dengerous by Western standards. Most plugs are two-pronged, missing the third "earth" prong. Tests on newer three-pronged plugs found less than half were properly wired.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Sopol Borirak said: "No blame has been attached. It was an accident."

Wiraporn Ungathakorn, acting hotel manager, said: "The boy had been swimming. We believe he had plugged in his Gameboy or pulled at the Gameboy charger while still wet.

"The water must have gone straight into the plug. The safety cut-out could not save him. The hotel has paid his medical fees."

The resort is in an area badly affected by the tsunami two years ago. It has since been repaired and visitor numbers have largely recovered but local authorities fear that such incidents may affect tourism.

The Foreign Office declined to comment.

The safety of electrical outlets and supplies do not meet international standards and need to be addressed along with all safety measures in hotels for al potential incidents.

Taken from the article.

Quote:-

The family, from Walworth, south London, had been enjoying a festive break when the incident happened on Saturday. Ms O'Keefe, who has returned home with Connor's body, was reported to have said: "My son was only unplugging his Gameboy. He knew about the dangers of electricity, he was not stupid... he definitely was not wet. There should be some warning about the different electrical currents you get abroad."

Unquote.

If they are not up to a desired level, withdraw their licences from existing premises and refuse to grant them to new ones. Simple and a basically required and expected one, full stop.

This is applicable to all countries by the way and guests do expect and should get adequate protection along with well drilled emergency cover for major incidents.

ALL places of residence have an obligation to provide information and meet safety standards everywhere.

Just maybe the ones that do not should be made to publish warnings to state otherwise.

( Yes i know unrealistic and never in a million years. )

How much business do you think they,ll get then you wise posters with your silly / insensitive comments. ( The 7 year old son has died so best to keep respect a priority / consideration. )

Let a coroners enquiry U.K. style decide on the reasons why.

The U.K. do by the way conduct an independant enquiry, irrespective of it happening elsewhere.

When the findings are published, only then will we know the cause of this tragedy.

Take a look at Thailands history on certain safety incidents over the last few years for an indication of why it happened in the mean time.

After the initial showing of remorse and promises to correct things we all know practically zero was done on anything positive.

We are not talking back street 150 baht hel_l holes here by the way in case it hasn,t been taken into account.

No excuses pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Condolences to the family and a thought for the 7 year old victim.

marshbags and

Edited January 5, 2007 by marshbags

[Diablo Bob]

My condolences to the family.......

First off...... this style of plug/socket is not just found in Thailand, it is pretty much the standard throughout Asia and Africa. A few weeks ago, I was staying in an upscale hotel in Dubai, and had to use an adapter for my Western standard plug to the Asian socket....

Electrical cableing dangling at head height is not just a Thai thing either....... you find it all over Asia.

I am not saying it is OK, I just want to point out that rather than finger pointing at the condition of Thailands codes and strandards you should be using a broader brush. Yes, more should be done worldwide, just not in Thailand.

As a side, has anyone considered that the problem might have been in the toy he was plugging into the wall rather than the electrical system itself?

[bkkmei]

does anyone know if those extension cords with red on/off switches could help prevent these electric shocks that people mention?

poor boy, what a tragedy...

[lopburi3]

does anyone know if those extension cords with red on/off switches could help prevent these electric shocks that people mention?

poor boy, what a tragedy...

Although the on/off switch might help with not having to unplug items to turn them off I suspect most only switch one wire so the hot may still be going to the item. 90% of those extension strips would be illegal in most any country that I can think of. The provide a three hole (appears to be grounded socket) and feeds from a two conductor zip cord. Very, very dangerous. Even if the building supply is properly grounded you have removed it with that piece of trash. There are proper extensions available in computer stores and places like Home Pro (check that it indeed has a three pin plug). And if it has a three pin plug with a two pin adapter on in deep six that adapter or use it to attach a proper ground if building does not have one.

As for the computer shocks that is leakage and computers must have a ground. A red switch is not going to prevent shocks - only lessen the plug/unplug odds.

[britmaveric]

sub-standard electrical - won't change and I'm afraid there will be more deaths.

[Chang_paarp]

does anyone know if those extension cords with red on/off switches could help prevent these electric shocks that people mention?

poor boy, what a tragedy...

Properly installed and maintained earth leakage equipment may have saved the kid. See Crossy's explanation pinned in the housing forum.

It is interesting to note that the kid was wet, not good. He may have unplugged the charger many times at home, but I suspect he was relatively dry at the time.

As an aside, if the kid was anything like my son, he would have just unplugged the game boy from the charger, leaving the charger plugged into the socket for next time.

Condolences to the family.

[Heng]

"He does it all the time at home," she said. "There should be some kind of warning about the different electrical currents you get abroad because this wouldn't have happened in England.

Okay, warning: the electrical current used in Thailand is 220 volts, which is the same as in England. You should NOT be wet in either country if you're going to plug something in. Check the hotel wiring and all, but don't overlook parental responsibility as well.

Why are you trying to make excuses for the awful state of Thai wiring?

Are you a parent? Has any of your children ever used a socket to plug in an appliance?

It's dangerous here. I've lived in different apartments, over many years, and you are always likely to get a shock, at the least. The socket design is poor. The wiring standard is low. The government regulations to implement safe electric systems are either non existent or not enforced.

It's not a difficult thing to do, to safely wire up a house, apartment etc. For the sake of everyone in Thailand this area should be controlled and improved. Things like walking down main streets in the capital city in the rain and having to duck below exposed electrical cables is insane.

Rather (or, as well as) than bring in new laws on drink and cigarettes, it'd be a good idea to bring in proper regulations in this area and to enforce them. - no doubt saving hundreds of lives every year. Not to metion saving energy from badly constructed and badly performing wired networks.

Not making an excuse for anyone. And I most definitely believe that responsible parenting is easier than changing the wiring standards for an entire country.

[Freddie_fly]

A couple of points here.

Firstly the mother claimed her child was NOT wet (repeatedly).

Second, people have commented on grounding, but the Hotel spokesman (Wiraporn Ungathakorn) claimed that

"The safety cut could not save him". Which implies that the Hotel had some form of GFI installed.

As these units are designed to prevent this I would imagine that it was not correctly hooked up in the first place.

Nitpicking but Thailand does not have a current of 220v, It supplies voltage at 220V, Current is what kills people and GFI boxes are designed to cut power at below killing current (around 0.2Amps).

As for Helitool, You are aware that the US uses a 110Volt system ??, I would hate to see your expensive US code equipment go 'poof' when you hook it up to a 220Volt system.

I am sure most people who have spent a lot of time here are aware of the countries deplorable record of electrical accidents. Many buildings are wired by people who dont understand electrical safety, or even electrics in general.

While I feel for the parents, I cannot see this problem going away for a long time.

regards

Freddie

[astral]

western equipment is designed to function in an earthed 3 pin environment, when used here it could become lethal

I think the Gameboy is Japanese...............................

where 110V is the norm.

[TAWP]

'The' Gameboy?

The company is Japanese, but you can be sure the ones sold in europe isn't designed for 110v unless the country runs it. (EC-marked?)

In anyway, one mentioned that sometimes not even the eletricians knows how to properly wire stuff. We had a major cable in a 'fusebox' (read: cable going into lever breaker covering 3 houses) melt and shortcut twice in a couple of weeks. And these cables are thick.

[Tammi]

Whenever I moved apartments in Phnom Penh I would check the wiring for the 3 pin electric plugs for the shower water heater. Once I found the earth not connected. But I always pull plugs whenever possible before showering.

[helitool]

Thanks for this nice sounding explanation, but it's complete speculation, you have no idea at all. You have zero information on this incident.

I agree with parts of your first point, and everybody who lives here is aware that wiring systems are shodily implemented both at design stage and build stage, with no or little regard to safety. - how many shocks and burnt out appliances have you experienced here? I've experienced a lot in Thailand, just by doing simple things like plugging in a TV. I've never had such bad experiences in forty or more countries I've visited / lived in.

As you correctly stated in your first paragraph. It's esy to put in a good safe electrical system. Why isn't it done here? Insanity.

ALL ADULTS WITH SMALL CHILDREN READ THIS

There is no way that the child could have come in contact with the hot side of the electrical system other than touching the hot prong of the plug while pulling it. When a small child pulls a plug out of the wall they tend to move their little fingers around the sides of the plug as it comes out of the socket to gain leverage (their fingers are quite weak compared to an adult). Watch your kids pull plugs until you know they understand that they shouldn't use this tecnique. In the USA we use 110v electrical in homes and the floors of the houses are usually wood and carpeted which does not provide a good ground. In Thailand the floors are usually concrete and even if carpeted can provide enough ground for 220v to kill. There is no magic to electricity it follows the laws of physics. The person must have come in contact with a conductor and another part of his body must contact something that provides the ground.

When I was about 7 years old I pulled a plug by moving my fingers around to the back of the plastic body and touched the neutral with my thumb and the hot with my index finger 50 years later I still remember the result like it was yesterday. Needless to say I was very careful when I pulled plugs after that. Unfortunatly here in Thailand a child probably wouldn't get a second chance.

As for your questions about my qualifications I lived in Thailand for 7 years in the 70,s and installed two complete home electrical systems using Thai components by myself. I am a certified electrican here in the US with 15 years experience. Yes, the Thais have some of the worst wiring I have ever seen BUT in this paticular case there is an 80% chance the wireing was not the cause.

Hopfully this post will inform forum members who have small childern of this specific danger wether they live here or in the west.

[Rinrada]

Havnt been through all the thread but read in tonights paper that the charger was locally bought in LOS......