Girl dies of electric shock at ATM
Thu, Apr 08, 2010
VietNam News/Asia News Network
VIETNAM - Power companies and banks around the country are thoroughly checking automatic teller machines for electric shocks following the tragic death of a girl at an ATM booth in Ho Chi Minh City last week.
The State Bank on Tuesday ordered all banks in the country to check the status of all their ATMs and report to it before tomorrow.
It has instructed them to close ATMs with electricity leaks and put up appropriate warnings and direct customers to go to other ATMs in the vicinity.
Power companies in big cities like HCM City and Ha Noi began to conduct checks even earlier.
The HCM City Power Company began immediately after 10-year-old Chau Linh Uyen of District 1's Nguyen Thai Binh Elementary School died of electrocution at an Agribank ATM booth near her school last Thursday.
It found 121 out of 1,329 ATMs in the city to be unsafe. Of them 30, including several located at children's amusement centres in several districts, had 100-120V power flowing into their keyboards and other areas.
Nguyen Van Yen, head of the city People's Committee's Emulation and Popularisation Department, told Nguoi Lao dong (The Labourer) that the utility had cut off power to these ATM booths.
The main cause of the electricity leaks at these ATMs is reportedly their wrong installation.
Experts said all the machines had been imported from developed countries and were designed with three-pin plugs but in Viet Nam installers often saw off the third pin for use in two-hole sockets. As a result, they were never earthed, they said.
Le Huynh Ha, Vietcombank's ATM Service Manager, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) that some people who leased space to the bank to set up ATM booths did not allow installation of earthing equipment.
"Sometimes we have had to saw off the third pin for use in two-hole sockets, which are common in the country.
"But we are determined to earth every machine and promise that in two weeks we'll see no Vietcombank ATM with electricity leaks."
But Uyen's death was caused by a leak from a light above the booth. Experts also blame banks for not working with power companies to install the ATMs, choosing instead to do it themselves.
Yesterday, the Ha Noi Power Company ordered its branches to work with banks to check the earthing equipment and electricity lines leading to the booths and their lighting systems.
The National Power Company No2, which supplies power to the southern and southern central provinces, ordered its 20 subsidiaries to check ATM booths by April and instruct banks in the installation and use of power at proposed booths.
In the central city of Da Nang, the city power company checked all ATM booths for safety.
State giant Techcombank, which operates 700 ATMs in 39 provinces and cities, has been carrying out the checks by itself since Friday, ensuring electricity leaks measure lower than 10V and installing or replacing earthing equipment.
Thu, Apr 08, 2010
VietNam News/Asia News Network
VIETNAM - Power companies and banks around the country are thoroughly checking automatic teller machines for electric shocks following the tragic death of a girl at an ATM booth in Ho Chi Minh City last week.
The State Bank on Tuesday ordered all banks in the country to check the status of all their ATMs and report to it before tomorrow.
It has instructed them to close ATMs with electricity leaks and put up appropriate warnings and direct customers to go to other ATMs in the vicinity.
Power companies in big cities like HCM City and Ha Noi began to conduct checks even earlier.
The HCM City Power Company began immediately after 10-year-old Chau Linh Uyen of District 1's Nguyen Thai Binh Elementary School died of electrocution at an Agribank ATM booth near her school last Thursday.
It found 121 out of 1,329 ATMs in the city to be unsafe. Of them 30, including several located at children's amusement centres in several districts, had 100-120V power flowing into their keyboards and other areas.
Nguyen Van Yen, head of the city People's Committee's Emulation and Popularisation Department, told Nguoi Lao dong (The Labourer) that the utility had cut off power to these ATM booths.
The main cause of the electricity leaks at these ATMs is reportedly their wrong installation.
Experts said all the machines had been imported from developed countries and were designed with three-pin plugs but in Viet Nam installers often saw off the third pin for use in two-hole sockets. As a result, they were never earthed, they said.
Le Huynh Ha, Vietcombank's ATM Service Manager, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) that some people who leased space to the bank to set up ATM booths did not allow installation of earthing equipment.
"Sometimes we have had to saw off the third pin for use in two-hole sockets, which are common in the country.
"But we are determined to earth every machine and promise that in two weeks we'll see no Vietcombank ATM with electricity leaks."
But Uyen's death was caused by a leak from a light above the booth. Experts also blame banks for not working with power companies to install the ATMs, choosing instead to do it themselves.
Yesterday, the Ha Noi Power Company ordered its branches to work with banks to check the earthing equipment and electricity lines leading to the booths and their lighting systems.
The National Power Company No2, which supplies power to the southern and southern central provinces, ordered its 20 subsidiaries to check ATM booths by April and instruct banks in the installation and use of power at proposed booths.
In the central city of Da Nang, the city power company checked all ATM booths for safety.
State giant Techcombank, which operates 700 ATMs in 39 provinces and cities, has been carrying out the checks by itself since Friday, ensuring electricity leaks measure lower than 10V and installing or replacing earthing equipment.
