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 WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Power company executives joined New Zealand's prime minister Wednesday at a funeral service for a mother of four whose electricity was cut off over an unpaid bill — shutting down the oxygen pump she used to help her breathe.
Folole Muliaga, 44, a nursery school teacher, died two hours after the public utility Mercury Energy disconnected her electricity because she and her husband had not paid a $122 bill.
Her death outraged New Zealanders, with Prime Minister Helen Clark denouncing the company's actions as heartless and intolerable and vowing to tighten regulations.
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