Malaysian Teenager Dies From Electrocution While Charging Phone On Bus

The Assistant Commissioner of Police, Anuar Abdul Rahman, said the teenager experienced electrocution while trying to use a socket on the bus to charge his phone.

A teenager lost his life after being electrocuted while charging his phone on a bus in Malaysia on Friday (November 1). The 18-year-old victim identified as, Nur Asymawi Jasmadi, died at the Penang Sentral bus terminal in Butterworth, soon after boarding the bus en route to Kuala Lumpur.

The Assistant Commissioner of Police, Anuar Abdul Rahman, said the teenager experienced electrocution while trying to use a socket on the bus to charge his phone at around 6 pm (local time). Around 10 minutes after the victim plugged in his phone to charge on the bus, fellow passengers reportedly heard him scream. The driver observed that the teenager seemed to have suffered a severe electric shock, with visible burn marks on his left hand.

“An initial investigation revealed burn marks on the victim’s left fingers, suspected to be from an electric shock while he was charging his phone,” Mr Abdul Rahman said in a statement, according to The Straits Times.

Special Task Force To Investigate Incident

Authorities concluded from the melted charging cable and the overheated phone about the incident. Other passengers noticed a foam-like substance coming from the teenager's mouth and quickly alerted emergency services, who arrived around 6:20 p.m. local time.

Paramedics declared the teenager dead shortly after reaching the scene. An autopsy later confirmed electrocution as the cause of death. Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that a special task force would be formed to investigate the incident.

"The transport ministry treats this electric shock incident, which tragically resulted in the death of a teenager while he was charging his phone on the express bus, with utmost seriousness," he said in a statement, according to a report by Free Malaysia Today.

“The special task force will investigate the cause of the incident to ensure it does not recur and that the safety of passengers will be guaranteed,” he added. He further added that the task force will comprise three agencies, including the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research.