One of the main news stories in New Zealand is the turning off the electricity for an unpaid bill of NZ$168.40 to a woman on an oyygen machine and her consequent death . Needless to say the heartless actions of Mercury Energy has resulted in outrage and condemnation .
Folole Muliaga, a 44-year-old mother of four, died within two hours of the electricity being switched off at her home in the northern city of Auckland .Mrs Muliaga , a schoolteacher, had been off work since February with a heart and lung condition and because of this she had fallen behind with her energy bills. She was being treated for a cardiomyopathy and was hospitalised with the condition for about a month and just discharged three weeks previous .
A company representative arrived at the house to disconnect the supply and the family said they impressed upon him her dependency on the machine to stay alive yet Mrs Muliaga's son Letitaia, 20, said the employee showed no compassion.
"He said he is here doing his job and he's here to cut the power off,"
Where have we heard that one before "...i was just obeying orders... " .
Almost immediately Mrs Muliaga started to suffer breathing difficulties and collapsed and died within two hours of the power being cut off .
The executives of Mercury Energy are endeavouring to weasel themselves out of criticism , of course but what would you expect .
While in now way wishing to distract from this individual tragedy and this family's pain and suffering , the events are simply just one example of Capitalism's brutality where the possession of money is indeed a matter of life and death , nor just for one person but for millions around the world .
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