An elementary student from Taichung has recently invented an electric outlet that can prevent accidental electric shocks. The invention has won him a broze medal at a youth invention exhibition. He says that the invention comes from his early childhood experience and he plans to apply for a patent for the outlet in the near future.

Nine-year old Chen Tai-jung was the youngest award recipient at a recent youth invention exhibition.

His design, a childproof outlet that requires appliance plugs to be rotated 30 degrees to be fully plugged in, placed third in the competition.

Chen says that he liked to stick foreign objects in sockets when he was younger, and often suffered from accidental electric shocks.

His own experiences inspired his invention, which offers protection based on a key-and-lock principle.

Chen's mother says that his favorite pastime is taking apart toys, and that the family will be applying for a patent in the near future.

They hope that mass-producing the outlets will lower production costs, and make homes safer for children.