KEY POINTS:
There is something disturbing about the events that have unfolded at the home of Folole Muliaga in the past two days. The case has become a political and public relations circus, with the Prime Minister - showing an uncharacteristic willingness to fire some verbal barbs at a state-owned enterprise, Mercury Energy - turning up with two MPs at the Muliaga home to offer condolences. Even more galling - and certainly a much more cynical public relations ploy - was the sight of the Mercury executives themselves visiting the home wearing traditional Samoan lavalavas and handing over a $10,000 cheque for the funeral service.
All this just 24 hours after Mercury claimed it had done nothing wrong in the case, which has made headlines around the world. Certainly, all the facts of the case are not known, and there remain crucial questions about what happened in the house after the power had been disconnected. Why, many people are asking, did the family not seek urgent help from emergency services?
But none of this absolves Mercury's responsibility, and the company has acted mercilessly in its public utterances, particularly with the line that it has done nothing wrong. It would have been best to front up from the start, apologise to the family, and acknowledge it has a case to answer in a possibly unnecessary death over a measly $160.
