A Toy Shop in Hong Kong has apologised to a dad who was slapped with an eye-watering bill after his son knocked over a life-sized Teletubbies sculpture worth more than $6,000 (£4,800) in their store over the weekend.
The father, named Cheng, was standing outside taking a phone call when he heard a ‘loud smashing sound’ and ran back into the shop to find his ‘terrified’ son staring down at the obliterated golden Laa-Laa replica.
Shop staff told Cheng he’d have to cough up $4,280 for the 5.9ft-tall porcelain doll because his young son ‘kicked it over’.
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However, CCTV revealed the little lad had actually just leaned on the replica accidentally.
After the clip went viral, social media users accused the store of 'scamming' the family and criticising shop staff’s handling of the incident, ordering them to refund the full amount they paid in compensation.
In light of the backlash, Kidsland International Holdings Limited — a listed toy retailer and operator of the KK Plus store — issued a written apology to the family and money was refunded to them on Tuesday (May 24).
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At the time of the incident, Cheng agreed to pay the doll’s cost price, discounted down from its $6,726 retail price, believing it was his son's mistake.
After reviewing the footage though, Cheng criticised shop staff for misguiding him and called on shop owners KK Plus to issue him a refund.
Speaking about the incident that took place on Sunday 22 May in the city’s Mongkok district, Cheng said: “My son was motionless, he was just staring down at the toy. My son was terrified after the incident that he had to skip school. He asked me why the doll looked scary.”
Mr Cheng added that 'the shop should have placed railings around the statue to protect passers-by and the statue itself since it could have easily fallen to pieces. Of course, as parents, we also have our responsibility as we failed to keep a close eye on our son."
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However owners of the shop, situated inside the Langham Place mall, said: “The decoration has been displayed at its current location since November last year and it did not cause any inconvenience to the customers.”
They added in a statement, which has since been deleted: “The incident was dealt with immediately and completely resolved, and the payment was proposed by the owner. This large-scale decoration is actually a prototype of the first printing.
“The official pre-sale price is 52,800 HKD. The cost of the prototype involves various expenses, including copyright and design, research and development and mold making, reinforcement, packaging, transportation and more. The decoration is only for viewing and has no toughness to withstand pressure.
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“We did not charge the family more than the cost price of the goods.”
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Topics: News
Lisa McLoughlin