Woman electrocuted while using iPhone may have been using a 'fake' charger

The Chinese woman who was reportedly electrocuted while using an iPhone, may have been using a 'fake' charger.

South China Morning Post quotes a report by Chinese state television broadcaster CCTV who said that the victim, 23-year-old Ma Ailun, may have been using what appeared to be a 'knockoff' (fake) iPhone 4 charger.

"Knockoff chargers sometimes cut corners," Xiang Ligang, a telecommunications expert reportedly told CCTV. "The quality of the capacitor and circuit protector may not be good, and this may lead to the capacitor breaking down and sending 220 volts of electricity directly into the cell phone battery."

Ma, who was previously employed as a flight attendant at China Southern Airlines, had been charging her iPhone 4 on July 11 in her home in Xinjiang, China, when she was reportedly electrocuted while trying to answer a call on her iPhone.

Ma's older sister, Ailun, had taken to Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, in the aftermath of the incident saying, "(I) hope that Apple Inc can give us an explanation. I also hope that all of you will refrain from using your mobile devices while charging."

Apart from the CCTV report, there's no official word yet on the cause of the incident, which is being officially investigated by the Chinese police.

When the news first broke out, Apple had expressed its condolences and said it would cooperate with the authorities.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the Ma family. We will fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in this matter," Apple said in an e-mail.