On the tail of news last week that a NSW woman was killed by what is believed to be a knock-off phone charger, a 14-year-old has narrowly avoided injury after a similar device, purchased from Sydney’s Paddy’s Markets “exploded within centimetres” of his head.
Image: NSW Fair Trading
According to SMH’s Angela Thompson, the charger was purchased by the boy’s mother as a birthday gift earlier this month, however, the $10 device failed to last more than a week, after which it cooked itself and a couple of power sockets, as well as short-circuiting power to several of the family’s bedrooms:
Ms Sommerville, from Kanahooka near Wollongong, said she heard a loud bang — “like metal hitting metal” — and saw a flash of light coming from Daniel’s room. Daniel came out of his bedroom with a stunned look on his face. He said, ‘the charger’,” Ms Sommerville said.
“The whole house smelt like gun powder. I was shocked.”
The story serves as another warning not to cheap out when it comes to things you’re going to plug into a wall socket. If you want to shop around, by all means get the best deal you can, but before you put your cash down, check the product has a “C Tick” — this signifies that the device in question meets Australian standards. You can read more about it over at TechGuide.