Power shut-off cited in death
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 said.
New Zealand police launched an investigation of Folole Muliaga’s death, which occurred 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 and was conducting an investigation.
Muliaga, a schoolteacher with four children ages 5 to 20, had been off work since February with an illness, said Brenden Sheehan, a relative who provided a copy of the bill.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
