NZ : Woman on oxygen dies after power cut

UglyMowgli · 05-30-07, 03:41 AM

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - 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.
A Mercury Energy representative arrived on Tuesday at her home in the northern city of Auckland to disconnect the electricity, said Brenden Sheehan, Muliaga's nephew-in-law.
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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070530/...Ss8vi19n0fYhAF

05-30-07, 03:41 AM	#1
UglyMowgli Grey Wolf Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 784 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	NZ : Woman on oxygen dies after power cut WELLINGTON, New Zealand - 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. A Mercury Energy representative arrived on Tuesday at her home in the northern city of Auckland to disconnect the electricity, said Brenden Sheehan, Muliaga's nephew-in-law. 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. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070530/...Ss8vi19n0fYhAF __________________ Modern Naval Warfare Community Manager