(Yicai Global) Oct. 31 -- South Korean electronics behemoth Samsung Group recalled all Galaxy Note 7 phones worldwide after reports of the flagship product catching fire, but a Chinese consumer does not accept the company's handling of the matter and took it to court, the Voice of China reported.

A court in Guangzhou's Yuexiu district held a hearing on the case yesterday. It adjourned the trial and will pronounce its ruling at a later date.

The man, surnamed Hui, bought a Galaxy Note 7 in Guangzhou and the device caught on fire less than 13 hours after the purchase. He filed a suit accusing the manufacturer of misleading advertising and fraud, demanding compensation three times the price he paid and an apology from the firm.

Several consumers reported spontaneous combustion incidents with the Galaxy Note 7 following the phone's release in August last year. Samsung rolled out the product in mainland China on Sept. 1 last year, but halted Note 7 sales on the following day due to battery defects and called back all Note 7 phones worldwide -- except those sold in the mainland. Samsung sourced the batteries of the phones sold in China from a different supplier, and the recall did not cover them. Samsung told Chinese consumers that their phones were safe.

One Chinese customer said that his Note 7 blew up on Sept. 18. The media subsequently ran stories on seven similar incidents, triggering a widespread public reaction against Samsung's practices. The firm apologized to Chinese consumers on Oct. 11, and recalled all Note 7 phones sold in China -- about 190,000 units.

As the fourth victim of the explosive product, Hui refused to have his phone tested by Samsung and claimed compensation three times the product's price based on China's Consumer Protection Law.

The plaintiff insisted that instead of suing the Korean company for product quality defects, the focus of the case is that Samsung's misleading statements constituted an act of fraud. The firm repeatedly emphasized that China-made Note 7 phones were safe to use in its announcements dated Sept. 2 and Sept. 14, which constituted an act of fraud against the plaintiff, given the fact that foreign consumers had previously reported several Note 7 explosions, Hui said, stressing that Samsung abused his trust in the brand.

Hui questioned how Samsung, who assured Chinese consumers of the safety of their smartphones and said that it used a different battery supplier for Chinese Note 7 devices, concluded that the batteries installed on Chinese phones were safe to use, but could not provide evidence demonstrating the difference between the versions. The company has not supplied any authoritative or credible information about the battery tests, he said.

Samsung claimed that the announcements it released in September last year were based on test results, but the evidence was submitted to the authorities and therefore could not be presented in court. It denied the fraud accusation on the grounds that it used different batteries for Chinese phones and that it recalled the products as the situation worsened and disclosed relevant information on Jan. 23 this year.

Hui filed his case in November last year. He said that Samsung's failure to gather evidence in the past 12 months or so to give in court raises questions about the authenticity of the tests.

Hui bought a Note 7 phone from the Guangdong branch of JD.com Inc., and he also named the firm as a defendant in the case. JD.com's attorney refuted the fraud charges, saying that the company obtained all its information from Samsung.