Hong Kong toy shop returns $6,000 to family following uproar over smashed Teletubby
A Hong Kong father who paid HK$33,600 (S$5,900) for a 1.8m-tall golden Teletubby figurine after his son was accused of breaking it has been refunded in full.
The toy store, KKPlus, initially published a statement on its Facebook on Monday (May 23), claiming that the incident had been resolved.
According to Hong Kong Free Press, the statement also explained that the doll had been in the same spot since November 2021, and that it "had not brought any inconvenience to customers".
The statement was later deleted.
A day later, Kidsland International, the parent company of KKPlus, subsequently shared another statement stating that it has apologised to the family, The Standard reported.
It has also fully refunded them, and "will immediately make improvements to avoid similar incidents from happening".
The store received widespread backlash on social media, when CCTV footage revealed that the doll had toppled over easily.
Netizens had questioned why the 1.8m-tall doll had not been better secured or cordoned off.
KKPlus' manager also acknowledged that the store could have taken better precautions. It has since removed all toys that are over 1m tall.
Photos of the family standing around the shattered remains of Laa-Laa the Teletubby went viral on Facebook.
The father, known only by his surname Cheng, had to fork out for the expensive toy after staff told him his son had kicked the doll over.
However, CCTV footage depicting the contrary surfaced online – the five-year-old boy did not kick the statue over, but had leaned on it, causing it to tumble.
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