Manila - A 32-year-old Catholic priest was electrocuted by an apparently defective karaoke microphone during a beach party in the northern Philippines, a police report said Thursday. Father Roberto del Rosario had just finished swimming in the sea and was dripping wet Monday when he took the microphone of a karaoke machine in a resort in Morong town in Bataan province, 90 kilometres north-west of Manila.
The victim's companions said they saw him trembling as he held the microphone. He lost consciousness and was declared dead on arrival in a nearby hospital.
Investigators were still determining the liability of the resort owner for allowing guests to use an apparently defective machine.
Karaoke singing is a favourite pastime among Filipinos, who love to sing on any occasion, including wakes for the dead.
