An Australian man claims he received an electric shock after getting stuck on a suction unit at the onsen pool at The Address Asoke condominium, which left a large rectangular-shaped burn on his back.
The 34-year-old man, whose identity is unknown, said he was badly burned after getting stuck on a skimmer, a suction unit used to filter debris from water in pools and hot tubs, for 20 minutes, while his 5-year-old daughter watched in horror. When no condo employee came to help him and his daughter jumped in to help, he had to use the last reserves of his energy to pull himself away from the skimmer, according to his Thai wife “Mali” who shared her husband’s photos on Facebook yesterday.
“The onsen was on the 44th floor, and the condo employees had to wait for the elevator for a really long time. Our 5-year-old daughter yelled out for help. She jumped in after her father started to feel exhausted because he had been shocked for almost 20 minutes. My husband said he almost didn’t make it but tried to free himself after our daughter jumped in. He was afraid she would be in danger too,” Mali wrote, in a Facebook post that has gone viral.
After they got down to the street Mali hailed a moto-taxi to drive her husband to Bumrungrad Hospital. She said the family, especially their young daughter, was still traumatized by the accident, and claimed the condo committees were unavailable to discuss the event.
In a four-page-long response, the luxury condo issued a statement today defending themselves saying it was unlikely the Aussie’s burn was caused by their onsen’s skimmer, adding that the Aussie was not a legal resident of the condo and had even broken condo rules by bringing a beer bottle to the pool area.
“Our security team together with the condo’s mechanics inspected the onsen and tested the electrical currents and the operation of all equipments in the pool but found nothing wrong. However, they found a beer bottle near the scene (as seen in picture 1). Our swimming pool regulations clearly state no food and drinks are allowed in the pool area,” the statement said.
Because it was definitely the beer bottle that was the issue here.
The statement added the committee could not contact the family because they’re not legal residents of the condo, only “friends” of the room’s owner.
“The committee will coordinate with the insurance company to investigate the truth and offer compensation for the accident. As the family said they were traveling back to Australia on Dec. 1, we advanced their payment for the doctor follow-up on Nov. 30 although it wasn’t clear what happened,” the statement said.
After all, who could get shocked by a skimmer?
“The wound covered all over his back, but the skimmer is only 20 x 25 centimeter. It is nearly impossible that his wound was caused by the skimmer. The skimmer only drains out the water in the pool. It does not have fan or electrical circuit inside,” the committee said.
Earlier this year, the Address Asoke found itself in hot water after a female resident publicized a story of a condo’s security guard who used a master key card to enter her room while she was sleeping. The footage of the incident circulated online.
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