Infant killed by ATM shock laid to rest

– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

PHUKET: The two-year-old girl killed by a short-circuit at an ATM in Trang province was buried yesterday, though police say they have yet to charge anybody.

The burial ceremony was held at Wat Kuan Pho in Yan Ta Khao district in the presence of some 200 grief-stricken relatives and guests, which included Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) executives and staff members.

Parichat “Nong Yok” Noopinit was seriously injured by an electric shock when she touched the SCB ATM machine on August 7 (story here), and was in a coma for about a week at Trang Hospital before passing away on August 15 (story here).

Since the accident, SCB has provided the child’s family with Bt158,000 in assistance money.

In a statement, SCB expressed deep regret over the incident and said the ATM was examined by its technicians and police and was now out of service, while it had elevated measures to monitor the electrical system of its ATMs.

It insisted that all ATMs underwent constant safety checks (story here).

Meanwhile, Pol Maj-General Saroj Chongrak, who investigated the case and is a Trang-based electrical engineer, checked the ATM machine yesterday before reiterating that a power overload had allegedly killed the child.

However, police have not charged anybody yet because they are waiting for reports from related agencies and more witness testimonies, Saroj said.

— Phuket Gazette Editors