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View Full Version : Shouldn't this be considered Murder?



packinpatland
05-30-2007, 12:27 PM
Or the very least manslaughter?


Woman on oxygen dies after power cut off
Family says death of 44-year-old New Zealander was due to unpaid bill

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 an 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. He refused to say how much money Muliaga had owed the company.

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.

‘Then he cut the power off’
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.

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. The company restored electricity to the house on Wednesday after learning of her death.

Sheehan said the family’s bills would prove Muliaga was trying to pay the account, and received no warning the power would be shut off. He declined to say how much she owed.

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.






© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

BallHawk
05-30-2007, 04:45 PM
If the company was not told about her condition then, no, they are not guilty of anything. However, if they were aware, even slightly, that a resident of that house needed a machine that ran on electricity, then that could be considered negligence. I don't see how it could be manslaughter. It's just an unfortunate and strange situation.

MJZiggy
05-30-2007, 04:49 PM
My question here is, when were the paramedics called? If I knew there was someone in my house who needed oxygen and the power was about to be cut off, I'd hope I'd either have the ambulance on the way before the fact or be gone with her on the way to the hospital immediately.

If the power company knew about it, then they have some splainin' to do...

packinpatland
05-30-2007, 05:45 PM
This pretty much sums it up.

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.

Scott Campbell
05-30-2007, 07:16 PM
Manslaughter.

retailguy
05-30-2007, 08:08 PM
survival of the fittest
n.

Natural selection conceived of as a struggle for life in which only those organisms best adapted to existing conditions are able to survive and reproduce.



Adapted to electricity companies:


Natural selection conceived of as a struggle for life in which only those organisms best suited to pay electricity bills are able to survive and reproduce.

mraynrand
05-31-2007, 01:00 PM
This pretty much sums it up.

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.

Maybe the guy even taunted her before cutting the power. But seriously, how in the hell could a guy cut the power after seeing the women was on a respirator? Something is very wrong here - either we're not getting the whole story, or the power company guy is one sick dude.

Iron Mike
05-31-2007, 11:44 PM
Medical Examiner's Office classifies this as a homicide.

Not sure how the District Attorney would view it.

GrnBay007
05-31-2007, 11:49 PM
Love the sig Iron Mike....esp the "tell me again" lol :P