Girl, 5, may be disfigured after Samsung Note 4 explodes near her face

Many of us charge our smartphones on the nightstand while we sleep every night. But this may give us a good reason to kick the habit.

A five-year-old girl from Guizhou, China, was severely burnt when her father's Samsung Galaxy Note 4 exploded near her face in the early morning of March 9.

Mr Feng Lingling had left the phone to charge overnight while his family slept, Sina News reported.

A loud sound woke the family at 4am, followed by the girl's cries, and the smell of singed hair.

The girl, who was sleeping next to the smartphone, bore the brunt of the explosion with injuries to her face and hands while her father's hair was burnt.

Mr Feng and his wife immediately took their daughter to Anshun People's Hospital for treatment, South China Morning Post reported.

She suffered severe burns which covered about three-quarters of her face, starting from her left temple to her right cheekbone.

With the extensive facial injuries, the girl is now unable to eat or speak. She also has trouble falling asleep because of the pain.

The severity of the burns will also require follow-up treatments and may cause the girl to become disfigured.

Seeing her child suffering in pain, Mrs Feng sobbed: "My poor child."

According to Mr Feng, he paid a phone retailer 2,699 yuan (S$550) for the Note 4 last August. His warranty card also showed that the device is still under its one-year warranty.

When reporters spoke with the phone retailer on March 10, the boss said the phone was sourced directly from Samsung.

According to Shanghaiist, the retail chain has given the family 10,000 yuan (S$2,050) to help pay for the girl's medical treatment.

Samsung said in a statement: "Samsung Electronics has been informed of this case and we are deeply concerned about the injured girl. After a preliminary analysis, we have determined the battery used in this case was not a Samsung authorised battery."

"At present, we are trying to follow up with the customer to resolve the matter. We wish to remind consumers to always purchase original Samsung products and accessories from authorised retailers."

Samsung's smartphones came under the spotlight last year after a series of reports of faulty batteries causing the devices to catch fire or explode.

It led to a massive worldwide recall of one of its premium phone models - the Galaxy Note 7.

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minlee@sph.com.sg