Family: Mother on oxygen pump dies after power cut
POSTED: 2:15 p.m. EDT, May 30, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/05/29/nz.lifesupport.ap/index.html
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A 44-year-old woman who needed an
electric oxygen pump to breathe died after an energy company cut
the power to her home because of a $122 unpaid bill, her family
claimed Wednesday.
Police said they had launched an investigation into Folole
Muliaga's death, which happened within two hours of state-owned
company Mercury Energy cutting power to her house Tuesday.
Mercury Energy's general manager, James Moulder, said the company
was devastated by the woman's death and was conducting its own
investigation to determine what happened.
Muliaga, a schoolteacher with four children between the ages of 5
and 20, had been off work since February with an illness and had
fallen behind in her payments to Mercury, said Brenden Sheehan, a
relative who provided a copy of the bill. Relative says family
warned company rep she needed machine
Six days before a Mercury Energy representative arrived Tuesday
at the house to disconnect the electricity, she was $122 in arrears.
Sheehan said both Muliaga and her son told the technician she was
dependent on the oxygen machine to stay alive and invited him
into the house to see it. "Then he cut the power off," Sheehan
told The Associated Press.
Muliaga began having difficulty breathing, became faint and then
collapsed, he said. Paramedics were unable to revive her, and she
was pronounced dead within two hours of the power being cut.
Spokesman says Mercury Energy 'simply unaware' of situation
Moulder expressed his "deep condolences" to the family, and said
the company was checking reports that it had been warned Muliaga
needed power for the oxygen machine.
"We were simply unaware that loss of electricity to the household
was putting a vulnerable customer at risk," he said.
"More than one" disconnection notice had been sent to Muliaga's
address over a six- to seven-week period, he added.
State Owned Enterprises Minister Trevor Mallard said there were
reports the family had been warned about the overdue account.
"The correct authority to investigate this and sort out the facts
is the police," Mallard said, adding the government would expect
"full accountability" if the company was found to be culpable.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Beli tanaman hias, http://www.toekangkeboen.com
Info balita: http://www.balita-anda.com
Peraturan milis, email ke: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
menghubungi admin, email ke: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
