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Man in China sues Samsung after Galaxy S10 allegedly caught fire when charging

HONG KONG — A man living in the far west of China is suing Samsung over allegations his new phone caught fire two days after he bought it.

The man posted pictures of a badly damaged phone online.

The man posted pictures of a badly damaged phone online.

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HONG KONG — A man living in the far west of China is suing Samsung over allegations his new phone caught fire two days after he bought it.

The man, a Kazakhstani national who lives in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang region, bought a Galaxy S10 for 5,998 yuan (S$1,183) on May 26 from an online retailer.

The man, who declined to be named, said the phone had arrived a day later, but when he started charging it on May 28 it caught fire.

He has now filed a lawsuit against the Korean electronics giant’s Chinese subsidiary Huizhou Samsung Electronics, which made the phone.

The aftermath of the fire. Photo: South China Morning Post

In the case, which Urumqi Saybagh District People’s Court will hear as a product quality dispute, he is demanding symbolic damages of one yuan and to be provided with a complete test report on the phone and reasonable explanation for the cause of the fire within 15 days.

He also wants the defendant to be ordered to apologise for producing a defective product, creating a serious safety risk and failing to fulfil its aftersales obligations.

The man said he filed the lawsuit because the company had ignored his repeated calls for an explanation over the past month.

His posts on the topic went viral on social media and on June 30 the retailer agreed to refund his money.

In an Q&A session with Weibo users, he explained he was only demanding a symbolic sum in damages because “I don’t need money”.

“The good thing is I was not hurt or put in any danger … I only want the manufacturer to give an explanation. Is it too much?

“What if my office floor was not tiles but wood? What if I was driving when the phone caught fire, or it was by my bedside when I was sleeping?”

The man said the accident happened when he was charging the phone with a cable on the afternoon of May 28.

He said he noticed the phone was very hot but the battery did not appear to be recharging. He disconnected the cable, but the phone appeared to be getting hotter and then started smoking.

He said he then accidentally dropped it, and flames started appearing so he poured water on the phone to put out the fire.

A video clip he shared of the aftermath online appeared to show smoke coming out of the back of the phone and extensive burns on the screen.

The man said he sent the phone to the designated aftersales centre on May 31, where an engineer took some photos, and returned with the phone.

He was then asked to send back his phone and all the packaging on June 11, but has yet to hear from Samsung.

Samsung has yet to respond to a request for comment.

The Korean electronics giant has previously had to recall the Galaxy Note 7 after a defect in some batteries caused the devices to catch fire or explode.

Earlier this year it was forced to postpone the launch of its US$2,000 (S$2,712) Galaxy Fold after a number of reviewers reported problems with the device. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

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