so did they kill her or was it suicide?

**MissJacksonCA** · 30-May-2007

Woman on Oxygen Dies After Power Cut
Company Allegedly Kills Electricity Because of Unpaid Bill
Reuters
WELLINGTON (May 30) - 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.

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.

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.

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2007-05-30 03:03:16

I think the guy who cut off the power should've listened to the kids who told him their mum was on the oxygen tank and then radioed his employer to discuss whether he should cut off the power which would in effect kill her. My concern is however that the woman herself didn't apparently try to speak to the electric technician.

On a personal note I had no idea my last electric bill went unpaid because the power company never got my money order and I was infuriated to find that it was lost and the power company waited a month to tell me it was late and that they were going to keep my deposit. To add fuel to the fire the post office said if the mail was lost and it was a money order that it would be auctioned off to some jackass who buys mail from the PO every so often. D'ya believe that? They sell mail! WTF? Then I had to go to the power company proove to them I bought the money order and that it was lost and eventually they said sucks to be you. In the end it did suck to be me I had to pay 12 dollars to get the money order refunded. Like why couldn't they just give it to me?

So I can see how for at least a little while she had no idea her electric would be cut off because my notice of cutoff came 4 days before they'd turn it off... what if that got lost in the mail? I'm actually suprised they'd turn it off after one missed bill and even more amazed they didn't even damn well call me. Its like they wanted me to pay another deposit on my bill and the reconnect fee.

**fartpants** · 30-May-2007

gotta be murder...

**Mike70** · 30-May-2007

i hope the power company has very deep pockets because i see one hell of a lawsuit coming their way.

also the first jerk who goes off about "paying your bills" in this thread ought to be banned for life from this site. this is a perfect example about how things sometimes happen that are totally beyond a person's control.

**darth los** · 30-May-2007

This definitely sounds like the power company is getting their pants sued off. Laws vary state by state but in New York, as long as there's proof of a legitimate medical excuse it is illegal to just cut someone's power off like that. My step son uses an albuterol nebulizer for his asthma. The power company has a copy of a note to this effect on file, so they are obligated to keep the power on. However, that being said, even if the woman didn't have a note, is no one able of critical thinking anymore? What's this guys problem? Once he saw that this was obviously legitimate and that this poor woman needs her oxygen he should have called the company to let them know. I'm sure that they would have left it on, being as companies are ever vigilant of lawsuits. As for the children, if it would have been me this tech would have had to kill me before he turned my moms oxygen off. That's my mother's life and over my dead body you're cutting the power off.

**Mike70** · 30-May-2007

darth los we are dealing with the mindless sort of automaton who simply follows orders regardless of the moral implications of his own actions. i am sure that the misanthrope who actually cut the power will almost certainly hide behind the lame excuse that someone told him to do it.

**darth los** · 30-May-2007

That sort of mentality is very prevelant today. Nobody seems to be able to think for themselves. The soldiers at ABU GARib said the same thing. Maybe they think that if they were given orders to do it it absolves them of responsibility. Just watch how quick that power company throws this guys under the bus. There's always a fall guy, just ask Scooter Libby. It seems no matter what happens the powers that be never seriously get penalized, with jailtime. What are they gonna do fine them? WOW!!

**AcesandEights** · 30-May-2007

Man, this sounds like a cheesy case from one of the endless crime dramas on tv these days.

I'd guess it was murder.

**MissJacksonCA** · 30-May-2007

How long have you been waiting to plug a word like that into a convo? I do wonder who turned off the power and what actions are being taken as far as his present employment status.

**darth los** · 30-May-2007

Well, it's been my experience that the power company is pretty well, powerless when it comes to actually shutting the power off. I believe that's always done by the tech on site. Now, when a person is sentenced to the death penalty, who is the one committing the murder? The state who imposed the penalty, or the C.O. that actually hits the switch?

**MissJacksonCA** · 30-May-2007

when someone gets the death penalty for any crime they're basically giving it to themselves... ha!

**darth los** · 30-May-2007

I know you got a kick out of coming up with that one. lol Very good grasshopper, way to think outside the box.

**Mike70** · 30-May-2007

Originally Posted by MissJacksonCA

How long have you been waiting to plug a word like that into a convo? I do wonder who turned off the power and what actions are being taken as far as his present employment status.

haha. 8 years on this site and i finally got my chance to use it in a post. been saving it up.