Kablooey: Another bootleg iPhone charger explosion in Bangkok

Another iPhone charger has exploded in Bangkok and this time it happened to someone close to Coconuts.

This is getting frightening.

Coconuts reader and friend Phurin Oey Phongsobhon was on the receiving end of the small blast that numbed his hand for a full two weeks afterwards. Thank heavens he wasn’t injured.

Oey said that he brough the bootleg iPhone charger at a the Mall Bangkapi and that the sales clerk said it was made in Thailand.

Here is his chilling tale:

I bought the first one about 2 months ago. I used it for a week and it seemed weird. The plug got really hot and it melted on the adapter and it stopped working. I went back to where I bought it the next day, (The Mall Bangkapi) at a normal electronic store and he gave me a new one. He said that he would send that first one to the company where they make them.

So, I started using the second one, and it was all fine for about a month [until the explosion happened].

First, I plugged it into the external plug and it did a little blow up, but wasn’t so big. I thought it was something to do with the external plug, so I quickly unplugged everything. The whole office’s circuit breaker was turned off…

I got the staff to turn it back on, and I waited for two minutes to plug it back in.

This time I plugged it into the wall, and yep, the moment of explosion. The fire came out of the wall plug and made a big bang noise! I could feel the fire and vibration on my left hand in that millisecond when it exploded. My hand was numbed for 2 days. The circuit breaker at the office was off after that again.

If it wasn’t for the office’s circuit breaker, I could have died… and I think a lot of office in Bangkok might not have circuit breakers.

So I returned it and I told the guy that I don’t want the money back, but just wanted to let him know that it’s fucking dodgy!!!

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Late in July, as reported by Coconuts, a Twitter user in Thailand said that her authentic Apple iPhone charger had exploded… but we’re guessing that it was actually a fake. And at least one woman in China has reportedly died from a fake iPhone charger explosion.

As it turns out, Apple has responded to the issue with a trade in scheme for fake chargers.

As VentureBeat just reported, the company will give a USD10 discount on the purchase of a new, real iPhone charger if you bring in one that you suspect is fake to an Apple retail store or authorized provider.

There’s no word yet on whether this trade-in scheme will be available at authorized retailers in Thailand, but let’s hope so.