Thread: Second man reportedly dies from electrocution while listening to headphones

A 31 -year-old Cambodian man has been pronounced dead yesterday (January 25th) in the Panat Nikhom district while reportedly listening to headphones while charging his phone.


The Panat Nikhom Police was notified of the incident at a room in the Na Wanghin sub-district.


Police and Emergency responders arrived at the room to find the body of Mr. La Meng, 31, a Cambodian national.

He was lying on a mattress wearing headphones and with his phone attached to a charging station which was plugged into an electrical outlet.


No signs of a struggle or distress were found in his room or on his body. No burn marks were immediately found on his body, however, the electrical outlet was blackened and had multiple devices attached to it.


It is believed that he died at least 12 hours before his body was recovered.


His friend, Mr. Won Tom, 35, told police that he didn’t see his friend go to work. He went to Mr. La’s room to check on him after he finished work before discovering he was dead.


However, an autopsy is being conducted to find the exact cause of death. Rescue workers initially believed, despite the lack of burn marks, that the victim was electrocuted.

On Saturday (January 23rd) A 28-year-old Thai man had been pronounced dead in Banglamung while reportedly listening to headphones while charging his phone.


Read more about our previous story in the link below.

Second man reportedly dies from electrocution while listening to headphones and charging his phone in Chonburi in three days - The Pattaya News

Man reportedly dies from electrocution listening to headphones while charging phone in Pattaya

A 28-year-old Thai man has been pronounced dead this morning (January 23rd) in Banglamung while reportedly listening to headphones while charging his phone.


Lieutenant Colonel Chaihan Pimchan of The Pattaya City Police was notified of the incident at 8:30 A.M.at a person room at the Dream Boys a gogo in Soi Pattaya 13/3, on Pattaya Beach Road in Nongprue.

Police, emergency responders, and The Pattaya News arrived at the scene to find the body of Mr. Weerachai Pasri, 28, from Sisaket.


He was lying on a mattress wearing headphones and with his phone attached to a charging station which was plugged into an electrical outlet.


He had significant burn marks on his hand. No signs of a struggle or distress were found in his room or on his body.

Police believed that Mr. Weerachai died at least four hours before his body was discovered by a co-worker.


His colleague, who was not named, told Pattaya police that they work together at the place although it is currently temporarily closed due to Covid-19 coronavirus restrictions. However, they live in the building and were waiting for the venue to be able to be given permission to open again. This morning, the colleague knocked on his room door to try to wake him up for breakfast but there was no answer.


The colleague managed to open the door before discovered that his friend was dead.


A doctor at the scene said the cause of death was likely electrocution while he was sleeping. However, an autopsy will be conducted on the body to determine the exact cause of death.


Man reportedly dies from electrocution listening to headphones while charging phone in Pattaya - The Pattaya News

however, the electrical outlet was blackened and had multiple devices attached to it.

if anyone here has ever dismantled one of the cheap chinese made extension plug thingys or phone chargers that are sold for a few baht in the markets and seen what passes for safe electrical connections inside it should come as no surprise that this poor chap was killed by one.

with multiple devices attached to it and the thing itself plugged into a 2-pin non-earthed thai wall socket it was only a matter of time before the thing overheated, the connections melted, and BOOM.

It is puzzling though in that the load demanded in running a mobile/ headphone connected to a cheap trickle charger plugged into a wall socket would be scarcely likely to fry your brains, yes?

Sure, if the demand from too many other appliances connected to the socket was such that it overwhelmed the supply medium then surely the trickle charger would have blown and the current to the phone would have been interrupted.

We need an electrician's analysis. There must be some here given the TD blue collar ethic.

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

It is puzzling though in that the load demanded in running a mobile/ headphone connected to a cheap trickle charger plugged into a wall socket would be scarcely likely to fry your brains, yes?

Sure, if the demand from too many other appliances connected to the socket was such that it overwhelmed the supply medium then surely the trickle charger would have blown and the current to the phone would have been interrupted.

We need an electrician's analysis. There must be some here given the TD blue collar ethic.

I agree, death by headphones might not be the most likely scenario.
Despite the similarities between the two cases, the significant difference is that only one had burns. Probably listening, eyes closed, smelled smoke and saw his socket melting, reached out and got whatever passes for 220V around here.
The other case, no burns. Quite possibly a heart attack. Possibly substances were consumed.

CSI TD needs to get on the case. Inspector Clouseau we need you.

Originally Posted by lom

You called..
It is unlikely to the extreme that headphones or earphones which are made of plastic could deliver a deadly electrical chock.
Plastic is a non-conducting material..

The phone too would surely be toast if that much current passed through it to get to the headphones.

no burn marks - not electrocution

The charger was likely providing a maximum of 2.1A at a very low voltage. My Samsung charger says 1.67 amps at 9 volts / 2.0 amps at 5 volts.

The charger should have also been double insulated.

Originally Posted by baldrick

no burn marks - not electrocution

Minor burn marks can sometimes be dificult to see (i.e., no black marks, just tinged skin).

If there were two people who died then maybe they were paired.

Originally Posted by David48atTD

Not my specialty field though, I was a high voltage sparkie.

Yes but did you understand anything of that job or did you just hang up the cables?

Originally Posted by David48atTD

For comparison, in the USB 1.0 and 2.0 specs, a standard downstream port is capable of delivering up to 500mA (0.5A); with USB 3.0, it moves up to 900mA (0.9A).

Apples and oranges, not a valid comparison. The USB voltage is 5V, the resistance of the human body is so high that 5V can only create micro-amperes of flow through it. You can't even feel it.

Originally Posted by David48atTD

A 60 Watts bulb draws 0.54 Amps to operate.

A toaster uses anywhere from 5 to 10 AMPs

You googled I suppose, those current draws are for 110V. Watt's law applies to low voltage as well as to high voltage..

^ this is what I used to do ...

Originally Posted by cyrille

If there were two people who died then maybe they were paired.

Originally Posted by David48atTD

^ this is what I used to do ...

can you operate a hi-pot ?

Were they tested for covid?

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

It is puzzling though in that the load demanded in running a mobile/ headphone connected to a cheap trickle charger plugged into a wall socket would be scarcely likely to fry your brains, yes?

Cheap charger units with unsafe isolation of the mains voltage. There's plenty of cheap, unsafe ones for sale in Thailand and the rest of the world.

Originally Posted by baldrick

can you operate a hi-pot ?

Nope ... specialist field.

Originally Posted by lom

You called..

Your tips on painting . . . I thought you were a painter

There was a Filipina nurse in Gosford, Australia died the same way a few years ago.
Husband of Gosford nurse electrocuted by phone charger tells of heartbreak | Daily Mail Online

from the above article.

Mrs Aldeguer was talking on her phone, which was plugged into a charger, when she died. The charger, which did not meet Australian safety regulations, had inadequate shielding causing 240 volts to 'arc' and pass from the charger through the phone into her body.

It is believed that Mrs Aldeguer died instantly and her body, which had burns to the chest and ears, was found the following day by friends and her landlord.

couple the dangerous chinese charger with a poorly maintained thai rental property that in all probability has never had an electrical safety check or been made to comply with any safety regulations and there you have it.

but as its just another death of an immigrant worker in a slum and a gay prostitute in a pattaya brothel, who gives a fuck.