HK Toy Store Refunds S$5.8K To Parents Who Paid For Teletubby Figure Their Kid Broke

What happened

According to Hong Kong Free Press, the boy’s father, Mr Cheng, had stepped out of the Mong Kok shop to take a phone call when he heard a loud crash. When he returned, he saw his son standing next to the smashed Teletubby. In a radio interview, Mr Cheng said: “My son was motionless. He was staring down, looking at the toy.”

KK plus’ staff apparently told the boy’s parents that their son was seen kicking the Teletubby, causing it to tip over. The store manager requested for the parents to compensate the shop for the toy, which retailed at HK$52,800 (S$9,233). However, they were required to fork out only for the cost price, which was HK$33,600 (S$5,800).
 

The boy’s parents agreed to pay, thinking their son was at fault. A receipt of the payment was also circulated online. But CCTV footage later emerged of the incident, which showed the boy gingerly backing onto the toy to avoid a passing crowd. The Teletubby, which was hollow, then fell over and smashed.

Mr Cheng said his wife called KK plus when they realised their son had been wrongly accused of wrongdoing. In his interview, he also said that his son was still traumatised by the incident, and took a day off school. Mr Cheng added, “Yesterday, he asked me three times why the doll was so terrifying.”

Shop issued statement, then deleted it

Initially, netizens speculated that the boy could have damaged the toy as he was being playful. After the CCTV footage was released, the public’s sentiment quickly changed, with many blaming the toy store for not cordoning off a valuable item to prevent accidental damage.

KK plus later released a statement to say that the display had been a prototype with a pre-sale price of HK$52,800. It also said that the Teletubby had been in its spot since last November and had not caused any issues to customers, adding that “the incident has brought unnecessary public pressure on both parties,” SCMP reported.

The statement invited even more backlash, with over 20,000 angry emoji reactions on Facebook. Netizens also accused the store of improperly securing the toy as a “trap” to lure compensation. KK plus has since deleted its statement, though its store manager said the store had removed large exhibits in precarious positions.

Parents refunded

The store also refunded the boy’s parents today (May 24), and issued a written apology to them. At press time, KK plus’ social media accounts were still flooded with netizens’ angry comments, with many calling it a “scam store”.