A little boy fascinated by his grandmother's washing machine died after falling head-first into it while she took a nap, an inquest heard yesterday.
Two-year-old Chan Man-kin drowned in the drum of a Toshiba AW9310-B, which had a top-loading hatch. The toddler was discovered with his feet sticking out by his grandmother, Ng Siu-chun, 50, after she awoke.
She said she pulled out Man-kin, who was unconscious. The boy was dead on arrival at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on January 6.
Toshiba technician Cheung Sheung-hei said the lid, which could be opened during operation, was one of the reasons the model was popular.
'This enables people to put clothes in anytime. Sometimes they forget to put in a piece of clothing when loading the machine,' he said.
Production of the AW9310-B ceased in 1990, but it had met safety standards in Japan at the time, Mr Cheung said.
New models now have an alarm which rings for five seconds if the lid is opened during operation.