Emotions ran high today as Folole Muliaga's husband recalled being forced to spend the night after his wife died in the dark because the power was not reconnected.Lopaavea Muliaga had to remove his glasses and wipe away tears several times while giving evidence at the Auckland Coroners Court inquest into the death of Mrs Muliaga on May 29 last year.
Some of the couple's children also left the public gallery of the court distraught during Mr Muliaga's evidence.
Mrs Muliaga (44) who was on an oxygen machine, died after the electricity to her Mangere home was cut by a Mercury Energy contractor because of an overdue power bill of $168.40.
Mr Muliaga needed help from a Samoan interpreter when reading his prepared brief of evidence due to his lack of English.
He said Mrs Muliaga, a teacher in Samoa before arriving in New Zealand in 2000, had been to Middlemore Hospital twice after becoming overweight, once in 2002 and again in 2007, about a month before her death.
He said she stuck to instructions about eating very lightly and exercising but was unable to lose weight.
"Folole was self-conscious of her body-weight," he said. "She could not understand why she put on the weight when she ate less than me."
She spent time doing teaching courses but made little progress and by the time she died she needed the oxygen machine 16 hours a day, Mr Muliaga said.
Mr Muliaga said he was the sole income earner and the pair struggled to put food on the table for their four children.
He said he rang Mercury Energy in early May trying to arrange to pay their power bill in instalments but was unsuccessful.
He said he made a payment of $45 later in May and didn't recall receiving the bill for $168.40.
"Eight days later her power was disconnected. At the time I believed we only owed $34.44."
Mr Muliaga said he was w orking when the power was disconnected and arrived home on the night of May 29 to find his wife dead and two ambulance officers at the house.
"After the power was disconnected, I sat in the dark with my children because Mercury Energy refused to reconnect the power until approximately 8am the next morning, despite pleas from family members."
He said he was confident his wife had stuck to the medical regime which doctors and hospital staff had given her.
The first witness, police detective Nga Wati Chaplow, talked about the investigation and how they did not find grounds to make a criminal prosecution.
He produced much of the oxygen machine equipment that Mrs Muliaga used, and during his evidence plugged the machine in and turned it off, after which a battery-powered alarm sounded.
During questioning by Mr Muliaga's lawyer Olinda Woodroffe, Detective Chaplow turned the oxygen machine off, which sounded a loud alarm.
Mr Chaplow said when mains power was turned off, the machine would not work but the battery-activated alarm sounded.
"My understanding, is it is a continuous beeping until either the battery fades or is switched off."
In addition to lawyers for Mr Muliaga and Mrs Muliaga's nurse Diana Hart, there are also legal teams representing the Muliaga children, Mercury Energy, Counties Manukau District Health Board and Vircom, the company contracted to Mercury Energy whose employee disconnected Mrs Muliaga's power.
Moira Macnab, the lawyer for the Muliaga children, said in her opening statement that the children were unaware how seriously ill Mrs Muliaga was.
She hoped that Coroner Gordon Matenga would make recommendations in relation to her care along with some about the providers of essential services to vulnerable customers.
Counties-Manukau District Health Board lawyer Adam Lewis said in his opening address that there was a fundamental right in the Health and Disability Commissioner's code for a patient's wishes to be respected.
Lawyers for Mercury Energy and Vircom expressed their condolences to the Muliaga family and said they hoped some answers about the incident would come from the inquest.
